The Fire Dragon's Journey
by TheBlackInferno
Summary: Natsu, after a terrible mission, decides to go on a journey to rescue a certain green haired queen. Along the way he finds troubles and enemies he never thought existed. This is the story of how Natsu became the greatest King of Fiore.
1. Prologue

Hello, TheBlackInferno here. I had an idea. Not sure what to make of it yet but it's an idea. Seeing as this is only my second fic I decided to start off with something a little different. I noticed as I was looking at a map of Earth Land that there is a giant kingdom called Pergrande. I looked on and noticed that no one really wrote about it. I also remembered one of my favorite crack pairings. So… I decided to write a crack pairing that would somehow take place in the Pergrande Kingdom. I hope you enjoy what I have so far. More Chapters, which will be longer, to come.

P.S. I, sadly, don't own Fairy Tail. Only the OC's I created for this fic.

* * *

 **Year x794 Crocus, Fiore**

It was night time in, the Capital of Fiore, Crocus. Everyone was in their homes around this time at night sleeping soundly. The streets were not filled but they still had people traveling on them. Some were returning to their homes for the night, and others were going on midnight walks.

If you look near the Flower Light Palace: Mercurius you will it standing in all of its glory. The castle seems to shine with the power of the sun, exposing itself, for the world to see its magnificence. If you look closer at the castle though you will see three shady figures sneaking about. They moved fluently through the shadows. Manipulating them to their advantage. They seem to have knowledge on the guards and where they patrol, as they moved about with practiced ease, going completely unnoticed.

"Hey Jax care to fill us in now on what we need to do for you." One of the shady characters asks.

"What I need you to do Jack is for you, and Haze, to distract the guards so I may do my job. Now let's get inside so we can start the mission." The one identified as Jax replies stiffly.

The three figures worked on moving past the guards so they could climb over the wall.

"Haze distract him." Jax said pointing to the guards at the gate. "But do not alert him to us."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You don't have to tell me that." Haze said in a stiff tone.

Haze used his magic to dull the senses of the guard at the gate long enough for them to get over it. The guard started swaying in place and eventually fell over. The three took this chance to hop over the gate and move further into the castle.

Once the three were inside the guard regained consciousness. ' _Ow. Did I pass out? I may need to switch with someone._ ' The guard shook his head and decided to wait for a patrol to come around.

* * *

Back with the three intruders. Jax was currently scanning the hallways for any guards that may appear. Once he spotted a unit that was patrolling he turned to his two partners and gave them their orders.

"Alright. Now that we are in we can start. You two will distract the guards and give me time to do my part."

"As long as we get paid for it. Im not too keen on _trying_ to get caught by guards of the castle." The man known as Haze replies.

"Oh you will get paid. Don't worry about that. Now get going we have to get her before midnight so we can use the spell to get out." Jax orders.

Jack and Haze then proceed to come out into the light alerting the guards of their presence.

"Hey! You there. Stop where you are and come out with your hands up." The startled guard demands as he and his partners point their Magic Spears at the two offenders.

"Oh no! You got us." Jack says sarcastically over exaggerating his movements. "Whatever will we do?" Jack says as he smirks as he raises his hands.

" _Light Magic: Flash_ " Jack uses his magic to blind and disorient the guards.

"Hey!" One of the guards says as he randomly fires off his spear.

Boom! The wall 5 feet away from Jack cracks as the explosion rocks it. With the explosion going off more guards get alerted to something happening in the castle.

"Now that wasn't nice fellas." Jack says still smirking.

With the guards blinded temporarily Jax takes the chance to sneak past and get further into the castle using his shadow magic.

"Over here! Intruders in the castle. Lock everything down!" A guard says as more arrive.

"Oh looks like we have a party now." Haze says as he uses his Mist Magic to cause a haze to fall over the entire area. " _Mist Magic: Battle Fog_ "

A deathly silence falls over the area as guards are huddling up into formations trying to figure out where the intruders are.

"Anybody got a sight on them?" One of the guards whispers.

"No not at all the mist is too thick."

"Well someone do something."

"We need to call the Knights they would be able to help us."

"Idiot they are away from the castle at the moment"

"Then what are we supposed to do?"

"What do you think? We fight. We are guards for a reason. We protect the castle from people like these. Now everyone keep your guard up."

" _Light Magic: Rain of Light_ "

Several rays of light are suddenly blast through the mist hitting the guards all over. A lot of the guards are taken out by this one attack.

"AAAAAAAAAAAH!" The guards scream as they get pounded by the light rays.

"Hahahaha! This is too easy. Come on put up more of a fight." Jack says.

"Jack we can't kill them, we are meant to distract them." Haze tells his guild mate.

"Yeah, yeah I know. Shut it." Jack replies stiffly.

* * *

A little farther into the castle we see a man in grey armor running down the hall at a quick pace. This man was adorned in an armor set that consisted of two giant shoulder pieces, a main body piece that had an X shaped piece attached to the front. He wore black pants that were covered by shin and knee guards along with a matching set of boots. He had his sword out and ready for any conflict that may happen. This man was known as Arcadios. He is currently serving as the Royal Queen Hisui's bodyguard.

"Your Majesty! We have intruders in the castle please come with me immediately!" Arcadios says to the Queen as he bursts into her room.

"AAAH! Arcadios don't just barge in like that!" Hisui says in exasperation.

"This isn't the time to be bickering Your Majesty we need to get you to safety. Right now." Arcadios says with the utmost seriousness Hisui has seen on him in a while.

"Who would try and enter the castle without permission? I don't remember making any enemies recently. More importantly where is my Father? Is he safe?" Hisui replies following Arcadios.

"I'm not sure who is intruding on the castle or what they want. Your father has been secured and taken to the safe room beneath the main hall. I know one thing. They will not touch you. We are going to take you to the safe room as well."

"Oh I wouldn't be too sure about that one there pal."

Arcadios and Hisui are startled by the voice that came from directly behind them. When they turn around they see a man in a cloak with some sort of black mist surrounding him. Arcadios noticing that he was not a guard came to one conclusion. He was one of the intruders.

"Who are you and what do you want? Tell me now!" Arcadios demanded taking his place in front of the Queen as to ward off any attacks that may come their way.

"I'm not too sure you're the one who should be giving commands here."

Arcadios tried to attack but found out that he could not move a muscle in his body.

"What is going on? What did you do?"

"Simple really. My name is Jax. I used my Shadow Magic to bind your movements. Oh and before I forget the answer to your previous question is simple as well. I want the Queen."

"DON'T YOU DARE LAY A HAND ON HER!"

"Now didn't I say earlier that you shouldn't be too sure about that? I already stated that so you can't tell me not to. My mission is to capture her after all. The higher ups would be extremely mad at me if I failed my mission, and I can't go making them angry. It would NOT be good. Not at all." Jax said with a certain seriousness that made Arcadios wonder what he meant.

"Now Queen Hisui if you would be so kind as to not make too much noise. I would love to get out unnoticed." Jax said with a slight smirk.

"Don't do this. You don't have to. I can give you anything you want. We don't have to go down this road. It won't end well for anybody." Hisui said trying to get the man to not take her.

"Nope. This is my mission and, as I said before, I can't have the higher ups mad at me."

Jax used his magic to restrain Hisui's hands when suddenly he felt a pain in his left side as he went flying into a wall.

"What the hell?"

Jax looked up and saw, much to his surprise, Arcadios standing there with his sword out and pointed at him.

"How are you moving? You shouldn't be able to move a muscle."

"I have my secrets and you have yours. Now surrender yourself, because if you don't I will have to use force, and I don't plan on going down that easily. I am the Queen's charge and I will not fail her."

Jax made a noise of slight anger at this notion. Not pleased at all with how the mission was turning out. Jax got up and started towards Arcadios.

"Well today is your lucky day. I don't plan on going down that easily, but I do have to get this done in a rather timely manner so I will end you quickly."

"Go ahead and try. Your Majesty please go to that place. I will find you after."

"Be careful Arcadios. Please."

Hisui made a run for the hallway to her left. Jax seeing this tried to go after her.

"No you don't!"

Arcadios seeing this intercepted Jax and started is assault. Jax barely had time to dodge.

"I told you I am her charge. She will not be harmed. You will have to go through me." Arcadios said determinedly.

"Fine. Have it your way."

* * *

Back down with the guards and the other two intruders. The haze that had fallen over the room had finally cleared and the guards were able to start defending the castle.

"You guys just don't back down easily do you now?" Jack said laughter in his voice. Humored by the way they were trying so hard to capture the two mages who were clearly stronger than them. "Come on try harder than that. You won't be able to capture us if you don't."

Jack was clearly amused by the sight. The guards were trying their hardest. Most had fallen by this point in the battle. The fallen ones were just unconscious laying on the ground in several places. In total about 40 guards had appeared to fight the intruders. Now there were only around ten left standing. These were the most veteran of all the guards that were around. Even they were panting in exhaustion clearly not prepared for enemies as hard as these.

"What do we do captain? We can't do anything against them." One of the guards asked the captain that had been there.

"We try our hardest. If we can't win then we go down fighting."

The guards would not give in. Not for a second.

"It really is futile." The mage known as Haze said. "You have no chance at winning. Just stay down and you won't be harmed anymore." With that said Haze launch another attack. " _Mist Magic: Blackout_ "

A thicker mist than the one before it began to seep out of Haze's body. It surrounded the guards in a matter of seconds.

"Don't breathe it in men! Hold your breath for as long as you can."

Most tried to withstand the mist but ultimately failed. Down to only two guards, they were very short on what they could do, but they wouldn't give up.

"Captain. We can't win what do we do?"

"Like I said earlier. We go down fighting if we can't somehow win."

Since it was down to a two on two fight now it would be much harder to fight, but it would also be easier since the guards could now focus on a one on one fight if need be.

"Hehe. This will be fun. I call the captain." Jack said with excitement.

"Fine. I'll take the other. Just don't come crying for help if you end up regretting your decision." Haze said with a slight smirk.

"Don't test me Haze."

Jack and Haze got into battle stances. The two guards mirrored them. Without warning the captain leapt at the two with his spear.

"Take THIS!"

He waited until he was only a few feet away from the two intruders and threw his spear, which was charged with energy just waiting to be released and used his magic to detonate the spear causing an explosion to erupt around Jack and Haze.

Caught off guard by the sudden attack Jack and Haze could not defend against it. They were blown back by the force of the blast. Both hit the wall behind them hard enough to go right through it.

"And that's how you get creative with your attacks." The captain said slightly out of breath. He used up a lot of magic to make the spear explode like it did.

"That's great and everything but now you don't have a spear."

"True but I have my magic. Every captain has their own innate magic. It is one of the requirements to be a captain. You have to have a backup and that backup needs to be a magic that you have crafted and honed yourself."

"What type of magic is it captain?"

"You will see soon enough. They are not finished yet."

The second guard looked back towards the hole in the wall to see the intruders climb back through it.

"You know that actually kind of hurt." Haze said. Both he and Jack had scorch marks on their clothes and bodies form the blast.

"Yeah it did. I'm excited to see what else you have up your sleeve." Jack said in agreement and excitement for what is to come.

"I'm a captain for a reason. I won't go down easily."

"I must know your name. You are a worthy opponent." Jack said with admiration.

"My name is Homura." The captain replied.

"Well Captain Homura. I will be your opponent."

Jack kicked off with a powerful force and punched Homura in the face, in turn knocking him back a few feet.

Homura flipped and landed on his feet.

"I feel you. I can feel everything now."

Jack was confused about this statement. He ignored it anyways. Jack rushed forward to continue his assault. Yet as soon as he threw his punch he felt a force push him back. As he was flying backwards though he turned midair and bounced off the wall and flew back towards Homura.

Homura caught off guard by this could not dodge the light infused punch that came his way.

" _Light Magic: Holy Fist_ "

Homura went flying. He crashed into the wall on the opposite side of the hall way. He tried to stand up but as soon as he tried got blasted by more Light Magic from Jack.

"I can't let you do whatever it is you did earlier. Sorry to say but I won't be holding back now. I acknowledge your strength. Therefore it would be an insult if did hold back. Get ready I will end this soon."

Homura felt a sudden surge of magic. Surprised he got up as quickly as he could and prepared his own magic. He would NOT go down that easily.

Jack was surprised to feel a magic surge from his opponent. ' _Interesting he was holding back as well._ ' Jack smirked. He was really excited for this.

" _Light Magic: Trip–_ "

Jack was suddenly tossed up into the air and crashed into the ceiling. As he was falling he saw Homura with his hands extended with his palms pointed upwards. If you look closely enough you can see he was panting in exhaustion. Jack being who he is noticed immediately.

"My magic is one that I crafted and made myself. I call it _Restriction_. It allows me to restrict the movements of my enemies momentarily and allows me to force them to move a certain way. Sadly I can only move them one way at a time."

"That's quite the magic you have crafted. I must congratulate you on it. Even so. It won't be enough to beat me."

Jack charged his magic as three magic circles appeared around him. He charged his magic.

"That was quite the surprise, but seeing as you used most of your magic up using those attacks along with that surprise spear explosion earlier, I will do you the favor of ending it now."

"I told you I won't go down that easily." With that said Homura charged up his magic for one final attack.

" _Restriction Overdrive_ "

' _I have only one shot at this. Have to make it right._ ' Homura released his magic and aimed his palms at Jack.

Jack seeing this decided to end the fight.

" _Light Magic: Flash_ "

Homura's eyes were blinded by the sudden flash of light. This messed with his aim and caused his attack to not hit.

" _Light Magic: Triple ray_ " Jack formed three magic circles around him and fired three beams of light towards Homura. The attack connected. Homura was blasted back through the wall. Homura lay on the ground unconscious and defeated.

"I acknowledge your strength Captain Homura. Well done."

"That took longer than it should have."

Jack turned around to see Haze with a limp body thrown over his shoulder. He noticed it was the other guard that was with Homura.

"Well I wanted to have a little fun. Besides he had a very interesting magic."

"Well it doesn't matter we did our jobs. Now all we have to do is wait for Jax."

* * *

The fight between Jax and Arcadios has been going for some time. Both seem to be on equal playing fields.

"You will not touch the Queen. I'm sorry to say that she is now far away from you." Arcadios says with certainty.

Jax smirks "That's what you think, but, I can feel her. She will not escape from me."

"What do you mean you can feel her?"

"Simple I am using my magic to track her. Like I said she won't escape. She CAN'T escape."

"That's where you are wrong. I won't let you harm her." Arcadios got back into a fighting stance.

"Well I guess I will just have to prove you wrong then." Jax readied his shadow magic and prepared to continue his assault.

" _Shadow Magic: Pillar_ "

A circle of magic formed around Arcadios suddenly. The circle then shot up towards the ceiling closing Arcadios off from the outside world.

" _Shadow Magic: Nightmare_ "

From inside the pillar of darkness Arcadios felt his consciousness being messed with. He started to see figures in the dark. All of a sudden he could see as if it was daytime. The figures he was seeing before were clear as day. It was the Queen and the former King. Along with some unknown woman that was with them. Arcadios's eyes widened at the sight before him.

"Your Majesties! Amber!"

The three figures suddenly started screaming in pain. Queen Hisui started melting right in front of him. As if she was on fire. Her clothes and skin started melting right off her bones. The former King was being cut from all directions. Criss-Cross patterns started appearing all over him. His blood being spilt from every wound that was opened. The woman that was identified as Amber was screaming while reaching for Arcadios.

"Arcadios! Please stop this. HELP MEEEEEEE!"

Arcadios couldn't take it anymore. He started running. Running as fast as he could to try and reach the three. The more and more he ran he realized the farther he was getting from them.

"NOOOOOO! This can't be happening! What is going on? Where are you? Jax! Come out and fight me! Stop this!"

The three kept on screaming. Arcadios was running low on his tolerance. He couldn't bear to lose them. Even if it was not real.

"Stop! I can't take it! I can't lose them. I can't lose her again. STOP THIS NOOOW!"

Suddenly a bright light enveloped Arcadios. The light exploded from his body eradicating the fake images and the darkness that was surrounding him. The light kept going eradicating any darkness that was in the hallway with Jax and himself. Jax all of a sudden felt really weak.

' _What is happening? My magic feels like it is being pulled straight out of me._ ' Jax leapt away from where he was standing and tried to back away from the light as much as he could.

" _Shadow Magic: Black Shield_ "

He summoned a shield of shadows to try and block out the light. He decided to wait out the strange attack that Arcadios was producing.

Once the light faded Arcadios can be seen standing looking around wondering what happened. This has happened only one time before according to his memory. That was back when he walked through the lava to try and save Lucy and Yukino from falling into lava three years ago.

"You. What did you do? What was that magic? Light Magic?" Jax asked Arcadios once he dispelled his _Black Shield_. Jax was amazed and worried at the same time. Amazed at the power that his opponent just displayed. Worried that his plans could suffer if he used that magic another time.

"It has to be my _Jade Amulet_. It has the power to protect me in certain situations. What the requirements are I'm not too sure about, but I know it has protected me on several occasions."

Jax became angered at this. ' _He was protected from my magic by an AMULET. A necklace!_ ' Jax needed to get rid of the amulet. A piece of jewelry could not ruin his plans.

" _Shadow Magic: Arrows_ " Jax launched several arrow like shadows towards Arcadios aiming for his chest. He wanted that stupid amulet gone.

Arcadios knocked some of the arrows away and dodged the rest. He charged Jax with his sword trying to catch his opponent off guard. Jax, seeing Arcadios come for him, prepared another attack. As soon as Arcadios saw the attack being charged he changed directions and backed off a little giving himself distance in order to dodge or counter the attack.

" _Shadow Magic: Consuming Chains_ " Black Chains shot out of the ground where Jax was standing and made their way towards Arcadios. Arcadios was able to dodge a few of them but not all. He got caught in the left leg and right arm by two of the chains. Jax used his magic to bring Arcadios upwards and slam him down onto the ground. Arcadios came down hard enough to make a small crater where he landed.

"Try to move from that attack." Jax said smugly. Not knowing who he was fighting. Arcadios was known for his durability. He was able to withstand many different attacks and walk away from it with only minor injuries. This was proven when he stood up and walked out of the crater with only some scratches on him. He stood there for a moment before rushing at Jax with all he could.

Jax was surprised at him getting out of the crater looking like he only fell a few feet instead of looking like he was slammed into the ground with force enough to make a crater. He was caught off guard when Arcadios rushed him like he did. ' _When did he get so fast?_ '

Arcadios used the flat side of his sword to hit Jax in the stomach and inevitably knocking the air out of him. Jax flew back into the wall behind him and left a pretty noticeable impression in it.

"Try to move from that attack." Arcadios said copying Jax's earlier words to make him angry. Knowing full well that a move like that would not stop Jax. He just wanted him angry because when you are angry you make mistakes. A mistake from his opponent was what he needed right now.

"You will pay dearly for that one" Jax said irritated at himself for getting caught off guard like he was. "I guess I should stop holding back now right?" He started building up magical power in himself.

Arcadios felt the power that Jax was starting to emit and started to get nervous about what was coming next. From the beginning of the fight, Arcadios knew that his opponent was better than him, yet he still tried to defeat him. All Arcadios needed to do was to buy time in order for the Queen to get to the safe room.

What didn't Jax know was that the room was protected by a barrier that only the royal family could enter. He stood no chance of getting in the room after the Queen got inside of it.

' _He will probably finish this farce now. He probably knew I was just a distraction from the beginning. Oh well. I did my job. She will be inside of the safe room by now. I won't go down easily though._ ' Arcadios smirked.

That smirk was only useful in making Jax angrier. "Wipe that smirk off your face. I am finishing this now. She can't escape me nor will she."

"That's what you think. Now that she is inside the room you can't touch her."

"Oh you mean that safe room? The one you were talking about earlier? I already accounted for that. The mark I placed on her allows me to use my shadows to travel to where she is. ANYWHERE SHE IS. Now this fight is over I have a mission to complete. It was a nice fight but it was useless for you to try and resist."

Arcadios's eyes widened at hearing this. He started charging at Jax but was blown back by an incredible force. Before he blacked out all he heard was the name of the spell that was cast.

" _Shadow Magic: Imperium_ "

With Arcadios defeated Jax made his way to the Queen.

* * *

Queen Hisui was running as fast as she could to the safe room. She had to get there and make sure her father was alright. It had been around ten minutes since she had left Arcadios back in the hallway.

When she had arrived at the safe room she immediately rushed past the barrier and into the room.

"FATHER!"

Toma looked up and what he saw put his worried fatherly heart to ease. He got up and embraced his daughter as tightly as he could. The former king happier than ever before knowing his little girl was safe.

"Hisui I'm so happy. Where is Arcadios? Is he outside?"

"No Father he stayed behind to give me a chance to escape."

Toma let out a sigh. "Figures he would do something so crazy. The most important thing is that you're safe."

Little did they know. They were being watched from the shadows.

"Father. Who do you think would try and get into the castle? Have you noticed me any parties mad at me recently? I don't seem to recall making any enemies."

"None that I know of."

Jax took that as his cue to enter the conversation and finish his mission.

"We don't really consider you enemies Your Majesty."

Startled Toma and his Daughter whip around to face the man that has somehow gotten past the barrier. Hisui immediately recognizes him.

"You! How did you get in here? What is it you want?"

"Well for your first question my answer would be my magic. For the second however you may not like the answer so I will just leave it out. I will tell you however that you are my target."

"You will NOT lay a hand on my daughter!" Toma said in a fierce voice as he stood protectively in front of his daughter.

"Hehe you have no choice but to watch me." Jax said as he used his magic to bind them to where they were standing.

With them immobilized Jax walked over and restrained the Queen's hands and hoisted her over his shoulder.

"STOP! DON'T TOUCH HER!" Toma tried to move but to no avail. "What is it you want? Huh? Money? Lacrima? I will get you anything you want just let my daughter go."

"Anything I want?" Jax pretended to ponder on it for a moment. "Hmmmm. Nope can't think of anything. "Well I have to be going now. The spell only works till midnight not after." With that said Jax left the room in a shadow leaving Toma screaming for his daughter.

"HISUIIIII!"

* * *

Jack and Haze were sitting on the crumbled wall when Jax appeared in the court yard with the Queen.

"Let me GO!" Hisui was kicking and screaming trying to get away.

"Stop squirming." Jax used his magic to knock Hisui out temporarily.

"It's about time Jax." Jack said.

"It's fine. We still have about ten minutes left." Haze pointed out.

"Yeah. I still hate waiting."

"Shut up you two and let's go."

All three of them gathered together. A magic circle appeared beneath them.

"STOOOOP!"

They looked up to see the former king, Toma E. Fiore, running towards them. "Stop. Let her go."

Jax smirked. "Be prepared, Toma E. Fiore, things are about to get hairy in Earth Land. Let's hope Fiore survives. Queen Hisui is going to be the first of several Martyrs used for our goal. Goodbye Your Majesty good luck with the future."

The magic circle lit up. Jax, Jack and Haze were enveloped in light. When the light faded they were nowhere to be found. Toma collapsed on the ground and wept for his daughter.

A few minutes later Toma heard his name being called. He turned to see Arcadios limping towards him.

"Your Majesty! Why are you not in the safe room? Where is Her Highness?"

Toma snapped out of the depression that he was previously in with this question. He looked at the spot that his daughter was previously. He spotted something. A piece of cloth with something printed on it. It was a symbol of a red Wolf head with two swords piercing it on both sides. The gravity if the situation dawned on him. He knew that if Fiore heard their queen had been kidnapped it would cause widespread panic throughout the kingdom. He only had one choice.

"Arcadios." The tone of Toma's alerted Arcadios. "The Queen of Fiore has been taken. I am stepping back into the role of King for the foreseeable future. We have to keep this close to the chest for now. We will send out search parties to find her. This could be devastating to the health of the country."

"Sir–"

"No! Arcadios don't say it. I know." Toma teared up at the thought of his daughter. "She will be found. For now though." Toma looked up at Arcadios with the utmost seriousness in his eyes. He held up the cloth and showed it to Arcadios. Arcadios's eyes widened at the symbol on it. "We must protect Fiore. I fear of something bad coming. Something that could bring the world to its knees."

* * *

That is it for the first chapter of The Fire Dragon's Journey. I hope you liked it. If you did give it a follow and a review. If you didn't leave a review and tell me why. I will do my best to fix anything that needs to be fixed.

I will have more chapters out in the future. Probably 1 to 1 & half weeks. Till next time.


	2. The Mission

Hello, TheBlackInferno here. I am back with another chapter of The Fire Dragon's Journey. I'm back early as well. Got a lot of writing done. As I said, in the last chapter, this chapter and the later chapters will be longer. I am planning on them being around 8-10K. I am going to try and get a rough schedule mapped out for when these will come out but seeing as I am going on a trip at the end of the month I am not too sure about the schedule. I am planning on having this and one more chapter out before I leave. We will have to play it by ear. Well enough out of me enjoy the chapter.

P.S. I, still, sadly do not own Fairy Tail. Only the OC's and the plot.

* * *

 **Year x794 Magnolia, Fiore. 4 days before the attack in Crocus.**

It was mid-day in magnolia. All was seemingly well with the citizens. Trees were in full bloom seeing as it was spring time. Animals were out and about doing their animal thing. The Magnolia Citizens were out and about shopping and having fun with their families. Kids were playing in the park with parents relaxing and watching over them. Some families were eating at their favorite restaurants. Others were just walking around and enjoying the sights.

Over at the Fairy Tail guild things were about how you would expect. The guild had changed once again after the war had ended. It was right around the time Lucy had won the new authors award. The guild hall had got rebuilt to commemorate the achievements of what the Fairy Tail guild had done in the war. It now stood an impressive 4 stories tall.

The first floor was where most of everyone would hang out. The first floor had the bar, the infirmary in the back, and the library on it.

The second floor was where the Master's rooms were at. He had his office, his personal library, and his personal rest area.

The third floor was S-Class only. It had the mission board and an area where they could sit and talk.

The fourth floor was probably the most impressive. It had a garden. A place where anyone could come and enjoy a peaceful time just relaxing. Freed and Levy had put runes in the whole room and set the place up to where nothing could be destroyed. The runes would make it so no one could use magic inside of it. It had a glass roof on it so the light could come in and make sure the plants stayed alive. It was the most peaceful place in the guild. You couldn't even hear the first floor because of the sound proofing runes.

Down on the first floor members were just chatting it up with one another enjoying each other's companies. Over at the bar we had the famous Erza Titania Scarlet eating her usual strawberry cheesecake and talking with the resident bar keep Mirajane. They both had changed over the years since the war.

Erza now never wore her armor unless she was fighting. She had long gotten over the need to wear it since she had made up with Jellal. The two were dating but Erza, as usual with anything that involved Jellal, kept getting flustered anytime Jellal did anything to her in public. Jellal loved doing it to her. Erza now wore a white blouse as usual but instead of a blue skirt she now wore blue jeans with blue sandals. She also wore a Silver necklace that had a ruby in the center that Jellal had given her a few months prior. She also wore her hair which had gotten longer, reaching almost to her down

Mirajane had changed as well. She now wore a red dress similar to her pink one. She also wore her hair up in a pony tail that started at the back of her neck. She still worked the bar. She did go on missions from time to time but she likes the bar too much to give it up.

"Mira." Erza said getting Mira's attention.

"Yes Erza?"

"What mission did Jellal take? How long is he gone for?"

Mira take out the mission registry and looks for the mission Jellal recently took. He went on an extermination mission. Apparently some monster had been terrorizing a town not too far from Magnolia so he decided to take the mission and save the town.

"He has been gone for about 3 days. He should be back tomorrow at the latest."

"Thank you Mira."

Around the time Erza finished her cheesecake the doors of the guild hall were blasted open by a certain someone's foot. Everyone looked at the doors to see the guilds favorite fire mage. Natsu Dragneel

Natsu had changed a lot since the war. Having to kill his own flesh and blood brother did not sit well with him. Even if his brother was evil. Natsu believed in protecting family, and his brother was family, so having to kill Zeref was a life changing experience for him.

Ever since they finished the 100 year quest, which turned out to be way too easy since Acnologia had already been defeated, he had been training a lot more. He had developed his fire magic to the point that he was now in the top five strongest Fairy Tail wizards. His hair had gotten longer to the point it was back to the way it was after he had went on his yearlong training journey. He now wore a red shirt with a white cloak similar to Makarovs' just without the Wizard Saint emblem on it. He wore black pants and black shoes. He had his scarf tied around his neck as usual as well.

"Hello Fairy Tail!"

Everyone responded with their own responses as Natsu made his way towards the bar to get some food.

"Hey Mira, Erza! Everything going good?" Natsu asked as he sat down. "Mira can I get a steak and some fire whiskey?"

"Sure Natsu and hello to you too." Mira said as she went to make Natsu's order.

"Yes, hello Natsu how has your day been?" Erza asked.

"Been good so far, gonna be better tomorrow though, I plan on taking a mission."

Erza raised a brow. "A solo mission? You usually go with a team." Ever since Team Natsu had gotten back from the 100 year quest they have made a point to work with different people in the guild in order to strengthen their bonds with their guild mates.

"Yeah. I have been itching to do a hard mission. Usually when I travel with a team I can't go all out because the mission does not require it. I have been wanting to test out some new moves and kinda see where my power level is at."

"Well I guess I can see where you are coming from. Just do not over estimate yourself. You have gotten stronger, at least in the top 5 in the guild, but that does not mean that enemies may not be stronger than you."

"Yeah I got it Erza. Thank you Mira" Natsu said as Mira brought his food back. "I won't go too overboard with the mission. Maybe something like a dark guild extermination quest. Ya know? Something simple."

"Dark guild extermination quest are anything but simple. I will trust you though. I know how much you have grown."

Natsu had indeed grown. He was now more mature than he was before. He still fought with Gray on occasion though.

"Thanks Erza. That means a lot coming from you." Natsu gave her his usual million watt smile and started to consume his food.

Erza just smiled and shook her head. Erza had meant what she said. She watched him ever since the war ended. She knew that Natsu being forced to kill his own brother would leave an impact on him, and she wanted to make sure he was ok, but fortunately it had been a positive impact. Natsu now had an even stronger drive to protect the people he considered family. She had seen on more than one occasion recently the length he would go to do it as well.

It was only a few months ago. Team Natsu decided to take a mission for old times' sake and Erza had got caught off guard by a wayward blast and Natsu jumped in front of her and had taken the blast himself. Even though he is pretty much immune to fire the blast of an attack still does damage. He had not been that hurt by it but to see Natsu go to such extremes to protect his loved ones was a heartwarming and terrifying experience.

"Hey Erza, Natsu." Said the resident ice mage as he walked up to the bar with everyone's favorite celestial wizard behind him.

"Hey guys!" Natsu said.

"Hello to you both."

"You guys have a good mission?"

"Yeah! It was a total success. We got to keep all the reward money." Lucy said happy that she is able to pay her rent for the next few months.

"Hehe. Let me guess the Ice Princess didn't help you at all. That's why you got the reward money." Natsu said smirking.

"What the hell did you say Natsu I couldn't hear ya!" Gray said cupping his hand around his ear.

"I said you probably didn't even contribute to the mission ya lazy stripper."

"You really wanna go don't you!"

"I don't know I don't want your stripping germs all over me. Put some clothes on then I might beat ya t a pulp."

Gray took that moment to look down and see that he was in nothing but his boxers. His eyes widened.

"When did I do this? I had clothes on when I came into the guild. Juvia! You got my clothes?"

"I have them right here Gray-sama!" Came the reply from Juvia who, as usual, was not too far away.

"Thanks Juvia." Gray proceeds to give her a kiss on the cheek for her help. Juvia then proceeds to blush and nearly faint from the affection that he is showing.

"Now ya Flame-Brained Idiot where were we." Gray catches Natsu off guard and slugs him in the face sending him reeling into the wall on the opposite side of where they were sitting. He then jumps after him to continue his attacking spree.

As the two are fighting the girls at the bar start their conversations back up.

"They never change do they?" Lucy says with a small smile while shaking her head.

"Well they have changed but their competitiveness hasn't. That and they are still too much alike so they can't help but butt heads every now and then. As long as my strawberry cheesecake does not get affected I'm fine with them blowing off steam every once and a while." Erza says while giving the boys a glare, which they both are unaware of, because of the guild brawl they started.

Apparently if a flying Gray comes in contact with a certain iron dragon slayer, that was eating, then things don't end well. Whenever Gajeel gets interrupted, while he is eating, he is very volatile. Gajeel had grabbed Gray and threw him into Elfman which caused Elfman to throw Gray back at Gajeel who then retaliated by going after Elfman. All the while Natsu is laughing at Gray's misery of being tossed around like a ragdoll. Once the guild brawl was fully underway everybody was all smiles and smirks fighting one another.

"Well I guess your right Erza. I mean it is good s=to see everyone happy after these past few years. It has been really peaceful. I just hope it stays this way. I know with Fairy Tail that nothing is permanent."

"Everything is good right now Lucy but if everything stays this peaceful some of the guild members will go stir crazy" Mira said while placing a smoothie in front of Lucy.

"Thanks. I guess you are right, but I just wish it would be peaceful for a good amount of time, but they could fight less and not destroy too much of the guild hall." Flinching when a chair flew past her head, and smashed into the bar, simultaneously destroying what was left of Erza's cheesecake.

Surprisingly Erza just sat there. Well that is until a minute later when everything finished processing in her brain. Only then did she get up and start a rampage across the guild hall breaking up every fight that was happening. No one was spared. Well except for one smart dragon slayer who jumped into the rafters as soon as he saw Erza get up from the bar.

' _Phew. Barely avoided that fiasco._ "

Natsu sat up in the rafters until Erza was through with her rampage. Erza went back to the bar and sat down only to be surprised with another strawberry cheesecake.

"Thank you Mira. You are the best as usual." Erza thanked her with a great amount of gratitude before throwing a glare at the guild. "Unlike some people who keep on destroying other people's food."

The guild immediately went back to what they were doing after witnessing the glare and the killing intent that she was putting off.

"Erza you should really lighten up a bit." Came a voice that as soon as she heard it she began blushing for some reason. Erza turned around and saw her boyfriend staring at her with a smirk on his face.

"OH! J-Jellal y-y-you're b-back." Erza stuttered flustered.

Jellal gave off a chuckle. "Yes I'm back and you don't have to be so nervous when I'm around. We have been dating for a little over a year now."

Jellal had changed over the years. His hair had grown a little longer, he wore a white jacket with a blue undershirt, with a wizard saints emblem on it. He had been reinstated to the wizard saints after Makarov had given him a recommendation. Since he and Meredy, and the rest of crime sorciére, had been pardoned Jellal had been allowed to come back to the wizard saints. He also wore black jeans and black boots.

"Hehe." Erza gave off a nervous chuckle while scratching the back of her neck. "I guess you just have that effect on me."

"I guess so. Well anyways it's good to see you again."

"You too Jellal."

While the couple talked Natsu sat in the rafters just watching the guild and thinking about how everything has changed.

' _I guess a lot HAS happened since the war. Everything has almost changed. So many relationships were formed out of the war. Lucy and Loke, Erza and Jellal, Gray and Juvia, Elfman and Evergreen, Mira and Laxus, and surprisingly Lisanna and Freed. I thought he was gay. I guess I have to be wrong about somethings._ '

As he sat up there thinking the master was off at the bar just watching him.

' _He has never been this quiet before. Something must be troubling him. Or he has finally grown up…. Pfft."_ The master couldn't hold in the chuckle that escaped him. Natsu would always be a kid at heart. ' _I just don't understand sometimes though. He can be so mature when he wants and needs to be but at other times he is downright immature. I guess that is just one of his qualities. To be so carefree has to be good._ '

"Master what are you thinking about?" Makarov looked down to see the youngest dragon slayer.

Wendy had grown up as well. The, now 15 year old, had filled out over the years. She now wore a light blue dress, white sandals, a pair of white fingerless gloves, and a silver necklace. She has grown in power too. She has trained with Natsu and Gajeel over the past two years and has become quite skilled in her fighting abilities as well as her healing abilities.

"Oh nothing to worry about Wendy. Just watching over the members and keeping tabs on how everyone is doing."

"Oh that's good. I actually have a question master."

"Yes what is it my child."

"I want to go on a solo mission. I know normally you don't allow members to go until they have reached the age of sixteen. I also know that Natsu went on quests to find Igneel at an earlier age than I currently am. So I was wondering if I could go on a solo mission."

Makarov thought for a moment and smiled. "I guess it couldn't hurt anything. But you have to take at most a B rank mission. I want you to work yourself into solo missions. It takes a lot more effort to complete them than with a group."

"Yay! Thank you master I am going to go pick one out right now and show it to you."

Wendy scampered off to the request board to find a suitable mission for her to take. As soon as she gets there she finds Carla floating up to her.

"Hey Carla! Guess what." Wendy said excitedly.

"What child? You seem very happy."

"Master just said that he is allowing me to go on my first solo mission. I am so excited. Even though he said B rank and under I am still happy."

Carla just floated letting the information she was just given stew for moment. She did not have long however because Natsu found his way over, with happy not too far behind him, as well. Happy had just got back from buying some fish from the markets.

"Hey Wen. I heard what you and Gramps were talking about. Congrats."

"Thanks Natsu! I am excited to show what I can do."

"I have an idea for you. Pick out a mission now and let's leave together tomorrow. I'm about to find a mission to take for myself."

"Okay! That's a great idea."

Wendy and Natsu stood at the board finding quests to take for a bit. Wendy eventually found something she wanted to take. Natsu told her to take the request to the Master to get confirmation. Natsu could not find a quest that he wanted to take so he decided to go to the S-Class board and find one. He had been promoted to S-Class the year after the war had ended. He won after he defeated Gajeel after a tough battle.

-Start Flashback-

* * *

 **Year x793 Tenrou Island, Fiore**

 _It was the finals of the newest S-Class promotion trial. This year's trials had consisted of a tournament style competition that took place after everyone found the grave like the x784 S-Class trials. It had been a good right but in the end the two strongest dragon slayers had reigned victorious over all the others and were now squaring off with each other._

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist"

 _Natsu came rushing at Gajeel at blazing speeds and nailed him in the face knocking him all the way to the opposite side of the makeshift arena they were fighting in. Gajeel flew into the wall and immediately jumped back out of the hole._

"Iron Dragon's Roar"

 _Gajeel fired a full powered roar at Natsu hoping that it would deter him long enough for him to charge up an attack. The attack barely missed Natsu as he jumped to his right._

"Iron Dragon's Iron Pillars"

 _A new attack the Gajeel had created. He smashed both of his fists into the ground to create six iron pillars that came crashing out of it. The six pillars made their way to Natsu at break neck speeds. Natsu was able to dodge most of them but 2 had caught him. One hit him in the stomach effectively leaving him winded and the other hit his head which blasted him back into the wall. Gajeel did not stop there._

"Iron Dragon's Lance: Demon Logs"

 _Gajeel extended his hand and formed a magic circle from which several iron logs were fired at Natsu. Still inside the hole Natsu got battered by the iron logs. Gajeel just smirked._

" _Come on is that all you got?"_

 _Just as Gajeel was about to continue his attacking spree his answer came in a deafening roar. Once the roar ended, out of the hole that Natsu was in, came a huge stream of fire was fired. Gajeel's eyes widened at the size of the roar. He knew Natsu was getting serious if the size of the roar was anything to go off of._

"Iron Dragon's Scales"

 _Gajeel put his scales on and tried to dodge the roar. With the size of it he was able to narrowly dodge it but it wasn't without damage. Somehow Natsu had fired his roar and then ran straight through it after he fired. Natsu pops out of his roar and punches Gajeel._

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist"

" _Come on Gajeel you can't think that it will be that easy. I'm just getting started."_

 _Natsu started building up magic power at a rapid rate. He kept going and Gajeel getting a little worried started charging up his own. He wouldn't make it easy for Natsu to win._

"Lightning Flame Dragon Mode"

"Iron Shadow Dragon Mode"

 _Both dragon slayers entered their respective dual magic modes. Things were starting to get serious. Everyone in the stands were stating to sweat due to Natsu's magic. The magic pressure in the arena was starting to become unbearable, but the other members of Fairy Tail couldn't be any happier seeing their friends fighting with their all._

"Iron Shadow Dragon's Roar"

"Lightning Flame Dragon's Firing Hammer"

 _As Gajeel fires off his roar Natsu engulfs his arm in fire and lightning and charges Gajeel. Just as Natsu reaches the roar he swings his arm back and then throws his hardest punch ever. The iron shadow dragon's roar stops right at Natsu as Natsu struggles to hold it back. Natsu keeps on going but Gajeel takes it upon himself to put more into the roar. Natsu starts sliding backwards form the force of the roar and even gets taken down to one knee. Keep in mind that this roar has iron in it so it is constantly tearing at Natsu's arm. Natsu gives off a mighty roar and pushes back at the roar._

 _Gajeel soon runs out of stamina and has to stop roaring at his opponent. When the roar stops you can see Natsu favoring his right arm a little. His arm is cut in several places and is bleeding severely._

" _Come on Natsu give up. I am not going to lose."_

" _That's what you think Gajeel. I did not train for this just to lose a second time. Let's see if you can handle my full power."_

 _Natsu lets off a mighty roar and his magic builds up even further. This is his last ditch effort at winning. His magic power keeps on climbing. So much that the arena becomes unbearably hot and the other members that are spectating start to back up and shy away from the heat._

"Flame Dragon King Mode"

 _Natsu lets off a mighty roar. The ears dragon slayers are ringing by the time he is done. Some of the regular guild members are even hard of hearing for a moment._

" _Let's see you deal with this Gajeel!"_

"Flame Dragon King's Demolition Fist"

 _Natsu swings his fist forward and unleashes an unimaginable amount of fire from it. Gajeel looks on with wide eyes._

' _If that hits I'm a goner.'_

"Iron Dragon's Lance"

 _Gajeel used his iron lance by pointing it towards the ground and propelling himself high into the air. He flies high into the sky, as high as he can to dodge, and narrowly escapes defeat._

" _If that's how you want to play then fine Salamander."_

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Karma Demon Iron God Sword"

 _While still in the air Gajeel uses one of his most powerful attacks. He slams his hands together and forms a giant iron sword. He swings that sword with a roar and aims straight for Natsu._

" _Take this Salamander!"_

 _Natsu sees the sword coming straight for him. He jumps to the right but does not escape taking damage from it. The sword destroys a large area where it hit and debris come flying and smashes directly into Natsu._

 _Natsu is panting and clutching his side after Gajeel finished his attack. He used up a great portion of his magic power with that demolition fist._

' _I have to use THAT and end this now. It's the only way. I'll force him to submit. He is about where I am with magic power. Gramps told me to only use it as a last resort but I won't attack with it.'_

" _You know I'm really happy to have fought you Gajeel. I understand now why you are as strong as you are. But there is one thing that sets us apart." Natsu looks up at Gajeel with an unrecognizable expression. Gray however recognizes it and seems really disturbed by it. Erza as well._

 _Erza runs up to the master. "Master! You don't think he—"_

" _Yes Erza he is going to use THAT. I told him only last resorts. Natsu has matured enough to know what he can and cannot do against his opponents. Especially guild mates. I trust him to make the right decision.'_

 _Erza looks on worried. 'Master is right but I can't help but remember that look on his face.'_

 _Back down in the arena Natsu was taking a particular stance. He had his arms swung out to his sides, his legs were bent and he was hunched over enough to where you could not see his face._

 _Natsu whispers something and Gajeel catches it._

"Etherious"

 _Gajeel's eyes widen at the amount of magic power that is forced from Natsu's body. Natsu's arms start to turn demonic like. He grows horns of fire from his head. His eyes turn black with golden slits in them. His body is cloaked in fire. The pressure from his magic is building and he knows he can't hold it long._

' _Have to end this now.'_

" _Come Gajeel face me. Let me show you what an Etherious can do."_

 _Gajeel looks on quite scared of what Natsu has become. Everyone knows of what he is. Everyone is fine with it as well. To see him become the demon he is however is a different story. Gajeel is sweating at the amount of killing intent and magic pressure coming off of Natsu. Gajeel falls to his knees._

" _Fight me Gajeel. Stand up now." Natsu starts to walk towards him. Gajeel was too busy having a war in his own mind._

' _I can't beat him. I can't. This is too much. He is so strong. I mean he killed his brother. Zeref was immortal. I can't beat him. Not yet anyways. One day though I will.'_

" _I can't beat you Natsu." Gajeel said this and Natsu stopped in his tracks. "I can't beat you just yet. So I give up. Congratulations on your victory"_

 _Hearing this Natsu extinguished his flames and returned to normal. He then proceeded to fall on the ground right next to Gajeel._

" _Good fight Gajeel. You forced me to use THAT power. Id don't like to but you were a worthy opponent to see it. You forced my hand."_

" _That is one wicked power you have."_

" _Haha. Yeah it is. Takes a lot out of me too."_

" _As it should my boy. Now stand up." Natsu and Gajeel looked over to see gramps._

" _Gramps. I'm sorry I used it. I didn't attack though."_

" _I know my child. You are grown enough to make your own decisions and I trust you. Now stand up." Natsu did as he was told._

 _Makarov grabbed his hand. "I give you the winner of the x793 S-Class Promotion Trials: Natsu Dragneel._

" _Congratulations Natsu you are now an S-Class mage."_

 _After he was announced the winner everyone came down and congratulated him._

" _Good job Natsu."_

" _Great job Natsu!"_

" _It was a wonderful fight."_

" _This won't stop me Flame-Brain I won't lose to you"_

 _Everyone was so happy. Erza was happier than any of the rest though. She was proud that he kept his promise to her._

" _Natsu. I am so proud of you. You did what you said you would do all those years ago. You surpassed me and became an S-Class wizard. I am so happy."_

 _Erza surprised Natsu with a hug. He stood there for a moment before he hugged her back._

" _I told you I would and I did. I never go back on my promises."_

" _Still… congratulations"_

* * *

-End Flashback-

As Natsu scanned over the S-Class job board he came across one job in particular.

 _Help Wanted_

 _Job: Defeat Dark Mages that are terrorizing town. Midnight Wolf Guild._

 _Reward: 1,000,000 J_

' _Hmmm Midnight Wolf. I have heard that somewhere but I can't remember._ '

There was a note attached to the request flier.

 _Come talk to me before taking this quest. Important information to be discussed._

 _-Master Makarov_

Natsu sensed an urgency about this quest and decided to take it to the Master and talk with him.

"Hey gramps this job says come talk to you. I want to take it." Natsu showed him the flier.

"Come to my office we have a few things to discuss." Makarov sounded serious so Natsu decided to not play around with this one.

Erza was in the vicinity and heard the conversation.

' _Did he take the dark guild quest?_ '

Erza sat there hoping that Natsu knew his limits and knew what he was doing. She knew he did but she couldn't help but worry about him. He was taking an S-Class quest alone after all. She decided on waiting it out and seeing what happened.

* * *

Makarov and Natsu walked into his office and sat down to discuss the mission. Natsu sat down and waited for Makarov to start speaking.

"Natsu. I know how powerful you are and I know you are no less than an expert fighter. I want you to know a few things about this mission though. This guild is very dangerous. Midnight Wolf. They have several powerful members. Their guild master is even more powerful though. I know you would be able to handle this mission though. I still want you to be careful."

"Always Gramps. I know what my limits are."

"That's good and all but this is not one to play around with. Who are you taking with you?"

"I'm going alone. Solo mission."

Makarov had to stop himself from laughing out loud. Instead he chuckled.

"That's very funny Natsu but really who are you taking with you?"

"I'm not joking."

Makarov gave him a very hard stare. "Natsu I know you are smart. Now do the smart thing and tell me you are joking."

"I'm not. I can do it. I know what I can and can't do."

Makarov just exhaled through his nose. He pinched his nose and began to think.

'He is very strong willed and he won't give up. Oh Natsu why do you have to be so stubborn.'

"Ok Natsu. Hypothetically I let you take this mission. You would be able to fully scout out the surroundings before charging in and planning out you assault?"

Natsu started to become frustrated. "Gramps. I know how difficult his mission is going to be. I can handle it. Trust in me." He gave his Master a very determined stare.

Master just sat there. He took in the features of Natsu. He just sighed and shook his head. He sat there for a couple of minutes thinking. After he came to his conclusion he looked up.

"Natsu Dragneel. I will allow you to go on this job. You will take the utmost caution though. That is an order form you Master."

"Yes Gramps."

"You will be leaving tomorrow I assume."

"Yes I planned on leaving when Wendy left for her job."

"Very well then. You may go. I have some paper work to attend to. I will send the informant the information letting him know you will be arriving in three days."

* * *

-The next day-

Natsu woke up at around six o'clock and packed his bag for the journey ahead of him. He had all his gear ready to go. He decided to go to the guild for a while before he left with Wendy. Before he went to the guild however he had to do his morning training.

His morning training sessions consisted of a 5 mile run, 200 push-ups, 200 sit-ups, 200 pull-ups, and using the punching bag he had for about an hour. This morning routine lasted for about two hours.

Once he arrived at the guild he went over to the bar to get some breakfast. Mira was there taking orders from people. Once she was done with the ones she was talking to Natsu went over to get something.

"Hey Mira! What do you have this morning?"

"Hey Natsu! I'm making waffles and bacon this morning along with some sausage."

"Awesome. Can I get two plates?"

"Absolutely." Mira went to the kitchen to get started on the orders she had.

Natsu was sat there waiting on his food when Erza came up to him.

"Natsu."

"Oh hey Erza."

"I heard you talking with Master when you came up to the bar yesterday. You took the mission about the Midnight Wolf guild didn't you?"

"Yes I did."

Erza was visibly worried. "Natsu I— Could I come and help you on this mission?"

"I'm taking it solo Erza. I wanna check and see where I am. Test my skills."

"I have no doubts about where you are. I just don't want you to go in over your head."

"I know my limit Erza. I can do this. Same thing I told Gramps yesterday. I know what I can and can't do. Trust in me Erza. I'll be fine."

"Erza if he says he can do it we should trust in him." Came a wise voice in the form of Jellal Fernandez.

"Jellal?"

"Erza he is one of the strongest in the guild. He can do it if he says he can."

"I'm just worried. Going up against an entire Dark Guild can be tough even for us."

"I know that Erza." Natsu said reassuringly. "I am not gonna go into this blind. I am going to scout it out then take them down from the inside."

"I'm just worried Natsu. I always worry about my friends."

Natsu placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know that and I worry about you too. Just let me do this. I know I can do it."

Erza let out a defeated sigh. "Fine. You better not get hurt. If you do I will hurt you even more."

"Hehe alright Erza you got yourself a deal."

Erza went off with Jellal to sit at a table with Gray, Juvia, and Lucy.

Around this time Mira came back with two plates full of food.

"Here you go Natsu. I put a little extra. You're heading out on a mission right?"

"Yeah I'm going to leave around the same time Wendy does. She isn't here yet but whenever she leaves I will too."

"Well I wish you good luck." With that said Mira went off to do her waitressing duties.

Natsu started tearing into his food immediately. Once he had successfully cleaned his plate he waited for Mira to collect it then went to the table where his friends were sat.

"Hey guys."

A chorus of 'Hey Natsu', and one 'Ash-for-Brains' went around the table. Natsu sat down to talk with his friends for a while before Wendy got there and decided to leave.

"So Natsu I hear you are going Dark Guild hunting." Lucy says wanting to know more about the mission. After she said this, everyone including Erza and Jellal, leaned and started listening.

"Yeah I'm going to take down a Dark Guild by the name of Midnight Wolf. They are supposedly tormenting Mayubi Village a village on the other side of crocus. I believe that's the one where Miss Anna got transferred to because they needed a teacher and Miss Anna volunteered to go until they hired a new one. I'm actually excited to see her."

"Yeah cause you had the biggest crush on her all those years ago." Gajeel piped in with this comment and got a shrug and a bored look out of Natsu. "What's with the look? That got nothing out of ya?"

"Eh. Who cares she was very pretty. Still is. So what if I had a crush on her."

Gajeel just let his jaw drop while the rest laughed at his attempt to extract a reaction out of Natsu.

"So my plan is to spend the rest of the day, after the three days travel it takes to get there, finding out about as much as I can about the guild then go in under the cover of night and take most of them out.

"That could work. But think about if they have spies Natsu." Levy piped in being her usual smart self. "They could know that you are looking for them. They could set up traps for you."

"That is a good thought Levy thanks."

"No problem. Just want you to be safe."

Around this time Wendy had actually arrived at the guild and started to make her way over to Natsu.

"Hey Natsu. Ready to go?"

"Hey Wen. Yeah let's head out."

"Wendy? You're going with him?" Lucy said with a confused stare.

"Oh. No I'm going on my own solo mission. It's my first one."

"Oh really congrats Wendy."

"Alright Wen. Let's go. See ya guys."

"Bye." Everyone said in unison.

Natsu and Wendy exited the guild and Natsu walked her to the train station.

"Natsu you not taking the train?"

"Nope imam walk there. Whole lot easier on me and I like to train a little while I'm traveling. It should take me three days to get there. I'll be fine walking."

"Ok Natsu please be careful going up against them."

"I will Wen. Can't leave my little sister to fend for herself now right? Gotta finish your training as well."

Wendy gave one of her brightest smiles and said bye to Natsu once more before getting onto the train.

Natsu just smiles and walked off. He got to the edge of Magnolia and looked back at the guild hall. ' _Be back before you know it_ '

* * *

-Three days later-

Once Natsu arrived in Mayubi Village he quickly set his destination to the town hall. He was wearing a cloak so he would not be recognized. Once he arrived at the town hall he went up to the secretary that was sitting at the front desk.

"Hello."

The secretary looked up at him and seemed put off by his appearance.

"Ummm. Who are you?"

Natsu noticed that she was beginning to get a little nervous. He thought for a minute and realized that his appearance is not all that informative as to who he is.

' _Boy am I dumb or what._ '

"Hehe. Sorry about the outfit." Natsu just scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "It's just so people do not recognize me."

He took off his cloak and pulled his right sleeve up.

"I'm from Fairy Tail. I'm here about the Dark Guild."

The secretary's eyes widened. "Really! That's wonderful I'll let the Mayor know right now."

She hurried off to the Mayor's office. Natsu just pulled his cloak back on before someone came into the building in order to keep his identity as much as he can. Once the secretary came back and told him the Mayor could see him he went to his office.

"Come in, come in. Take a seat." Natsu did so.

"You having a problem with the Midnight Wolf Guild?"

"Yes. They keep terrorizing my citizens. Making them pay tolls to get to certain areas that they have taken over and making them pay the guild for their quote unquote 'protection', and it really is getting to be a problem."

"Do you know anything about any of their members?"

"Only a few, and not much at all, one can use shadow magic, one can use light magic, one can make fog appear, one can use gravity magic, and one can use wood magic. They are highly skilled. Now to a man of your caliber I'm not sure how to compare them. I have heard of you before. I know who you are and I know you are hiding it so I won't say anything."

"That's appreciated. Now can you tell me anything about their Master?"

"No. We know absolutely nothing about him. Haven't even saw him once. All we know is that he is supposedly very strong and very hard to find. All the rune knights that have come out and tried to apprehend some of the guild members have not made it back."

Natsu sighed. "Well I guess on top of terrorizing the village I can put them down for murder as well if I don't find the Rune Knights in the guild hall." Natsu sat there thinking for a good minute or two. He sighed again. "I guess that will do. I will do some more investigating on my own. I will take care of this Dark Guild problem. There will probably be a fight tomorrow. Make sure that any of the residents do not attempt to come towards the guild hall tomorrow."

"I will do not worry. Thank you so much. We appreciate everything you do. Also don't worry about the reward. We have plenty of money we can afford it. Just please get rid of the Dark Guild."

"Leave it to me."

Natsu promptly left and went to find some information on the Dark Guild.

* * *

Natsu visited several shops and tried asking around for information on the guild. Not many people provided helpful information. Mostly because they did not want to anger the dark guild by helping a light guild member. While understandable it just helped to make Natsu frustrated.

He walked up to a nice looking family owned restaurant. As soon as he walked in he took off his hood and sat down at a table.

Someone came over to service him.

"Hi welcome to Mya's Grill. What can I get you?"

"I'm not here to eat necessarily. You can however get me some information. Do you know anything about the dark guild that is in this village?"

The girl, as soon as he asked the question, started stuttering and sweating a little.

"I-I-I… uhh. I don't know much. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you anything about them."

Natsu sighed. "No it's fine. Don't worry about it. Can I get a burger with fries and a drink?"

"Oh. Yeah sure be right out with that."

So Natsu ate his food while he pondered on how to get more information on his enemies. Currently he was venting while walking towards a school house hoping to get information there.

' _Come on. I have to find something. Maybe I should just go with what I have. I could scout their guild hall out. Yeah I'll do that. Scout then take them early in the morning when they are least expecting it."_

As soon as he got to the school house, coincidentally a person that he owed much to, walked out of the school. Anna Heartfilia. Once he saw her and caught her eyes his eyes widened with surprise. Hers did the same.

"Miss Anna?"

"Natsu? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to get rid of the dark guild. I forgot about you being here. I had heard that you had got moved here a while back."

"Yeah. I'm filling in until they get a teacher. I really like the kids here. Easy to teach. Now what's this I hear about you taking on Midnight Wolf? Wait hold that let's go back to my place first."

Natsu and Anna walked back to her humble abode and went inside. Whenever they got inside Anna used a sound-proofing spell to silence what comes out of the room.

"Now you can tell me what you are doing here."

Natsu spent the next couple of minutes talking with Anna telling her everything he knew about the mission. He also told her descriptions of the magics that he had heard from the Mayor and a few people that were brave enough to tell him.

"Well that about covers what I know. I'm sorry I can't be of any help but I can do one thing for you Natsu."

"And what's that Miss Anna."

"I have a little spell that I devised. It's a protection spell. Something that I came up with 400 years ago when I sent you all through the portal along with myself. It can only be activated once and I only now had enough time to refine it and make it usable. It comes in the form of a necklace."

She brought out a small box with a gold necklace inside. Natsu laid eyes on the necklace and immediately recognized it.

"Wait isn't hat necklace the one you wore when you first met us?"

"Yes it is Natsu. I'm happy you remembered."

She gave the necklace to Natsu and put it on him.

"It will protect you from death. It will transport your body back to the place you feel most at home. It will go off your own feelings so you do not have to tell it anything. It also activates on its own. It senses the life within you and when it senses that life about to go out it will teleport you back."

"Why are you giving this to me?"

"Because you are one of my students. I love you all dearly and I won't have you dying. Now you go and destroy this dark guild and put them in their place."

"You got it!" Natsu said with his signature grin.

* * *

Natsu was on a cliff by the guild hall and he was currently looking for a way in. It was almost midnight. He wanted to get in during the night to be able to scout the place out. It wasn't looking promising though. It only had one entrance and it was locked.

' _Damn, I'll have to come back tomorrow whenever I come to fight. I just need to figure out if I want to fight them at once or take them on one by one. I could go in after someone gets in in the morning and take them out as soon as they come through the door. That might alert them because if they come in in groups or just wait for the place to open up it would mess that up. I'll just make something up as I go._ '

Natsu decided to scope out the surrounding of the guild incase the fight got taken outside. He walked around the place looking at the surrounding countryside.

' _It isn't that bad of a place. Plenty of room for me to fight in. I can use some of my more powerful spells since I could aim it away from the village. It would also allow me to go harder than I normally would with the village being this close. It's as good a place as any._ '

While he was thinking he did not notice the bright flash inside the windows of the guild hall.

* * *

Inside the guild hall three people had suddenly appeared and they were carrying a fourth person. These people were Jax, Haze, and Jack. They were carrying Queen Hisui.

"Well that is a job well done boys. I believe we pulled that off successfully." Jack said with a proud grin.

"It went well considering all the fighting that was done." Haze commented.

"Well anyways the Master should be here soon." Jax said.

"Not soon. I'm here now." Came a deep intimidating voice above them.

All three looked up and saw a man about 6'0 tall. He wore a dark red cloak that came down to his calves and a black shirt underneath the cloak. He wore black pants with red combat boots. He was a very intimidating man. He had a great amount of magic power. You could feel it within his stare. This man was, Mercury Cross, the Guild Master of the Midnight Wolf Guild.

"I see you have brought the girl. That's good we don't need the Master mad. That wouldn't be good for any of you."

Jax brought the Hisui up to him and handed her over to Mercury.

"I'll take her to her cell. You three. You did a fine job. Be here tomorrow, for the Master's arrival, I want you three to take charge on handing her over. You get the credit for this one."

"Yes Master thank you very much." Jax replied.

Once Mercury was out of the room going towards the holding cells the three started chatting amongst themselves.

"Alright once we arrive tomorrow morning we need to be together. We do not need to waste time with this. The faster we do it the better it will go. The Master's Master is a very important individual as you both know." Jax said with the utmost seriousness.

"Yeah Jax we got it. We know what to do. We will go get the girl and bring her to you then you will hand her over." Jack said in a lazy tone.

"And after you hand her over we will get our reward. After that is said and done we all, and I mean the rest of the guild, have to be on our best behavior because the Master does not like unruliness." Haze completed.

"Exactly. Also I want to have her out of her cell before the Master gets here. I want her to see what she will be doing for us. Since she will be a Martyr for the Kingdom of Fiore I want her, to witness first-hand who the people are that are wanting her to be a Martyr, and know the reason why." Jax explained. "So when we arrive in the morning we will bring her out in chains and leave her on display. This is also a way to cement us in the guild as the strongest team. I mean who else can walk into the castle and kidnap the Queen from them?"

"Yeah you're right Jax. Well I'm heading out to for the night I'll be back tomorrow morning early." Haze said.

"Yeah. I'm out as well." Jack agreed.

They both left Jax to his own devices and left for the night.

* * *

The next morning Natsu got up early and got ready for his attack. Once he arrived at the guild he waited on the cliff watching them enter the guild not knowing what was coming upon them. Once 9'oclock rolled around he got ready for his attack.

Natsu walked down the cliff and went up to the front door of the Midnight Wolf Guild Hall. Once he was satisfied that no one else was coming he went in for the attack.

' _I don't know if they have captives so I can't go all out from the start._ '

Natsu puffed up his cheeks and roared with all his might.

" _Fire Dragon's Roar_ "

The front door of the guild blew straight off its hinges and flew across the hall into the bar. It scattered mages in its path and knocked a few out. Natsu walked in the door.

"ALRIGHT PEOPLE IT'S TIME TO PLAY"

* * *

Well. That's it for Chapter 1 of The Fire Dragon's Journey. I hope you enjoyed. There were a lot of scene changes in this chapter but it couldn't be helped. Next chapter however there won't be as many.

If you liked the story give it a follow and a review. If you didn't leave a review and tell me why. I will do my best to fix anything that needs to be fixed.

Till next time.


	3. The Fight and The Failure

Hello everyone, TheBlackInferno here. I am once again back with another chapter. First off, I want to say sorry. Sorry for the amount of time in between the last chapter and this one. The reason is simple. I have had enough time to write. The problem was that I didn't want to do it. I have been bored as of late. Like with anything I do. Don't know why. Weird. I am back to writing though. I hope to continue with it and start getting more chapters out at a faster pace. Enjoy the chapter.

P.S. I do not own Fairy Tail for its characters. Only my OC's and the story.

* * *

"ALRIGHT PEOPLE IT'S TIME TO PLAY." Natsu screamed as he entered the guild hall ablaze. Spewing fire out of his mouth everywhere. Everyone in the guild hall was just frozen in time trying to figure out what is happening. Natsu just looked around at everyone waiting on someone to come towards him.

As they finished processing what happened to them 3 of the closest wizards jumped out of their seats to take on the intruder.

As they jumped at him the closest to him wound up his magic and attacked.

" _Solid Script: Thunder_ "

Natsu just ate the attack. Once the three that attacked him saw him eat they each sent out more spells.

" _Solid Script: Drill_ "

" _Sand Magic: Quicksand_ "

" _Sound Magic: Deafening_ "

Natsu put up a cloak of flames around his body and charged the three attackers. Once he got into the front of the first one he quickly punched him and knocked him out of the way. He jumped onto the second and grabbed him throwing him into the third guy.

Once he threw the two together he puffed up his cheeks and fired off an attack.

" _Fire Dragon's Roar_ "

He didn't fire at full power. Just enough to defeat knock them out and burn them a little. No permanent damage.

After he started the fight everyone jumped in. The guild was filled with good wizards. They all knew their stuff. The only deciding factor in this fight though is the fact that they are dark wizards. Natsu hates dark guilds so he doesn't even give them a chance to recuperate after attacking.

" _Fire Dragon's Roar_ "

Natsu roars at them and takes out most them. More of the enemies jump at Natsu in hopes of taking out the man that came into their guild and started a fight. Spells are being thrown left and right by the Midnight Wolf members. Natsu kept dodging to the best of his abilities looking for a chance to attack without having to go all out.

Magic was coming in everywhere. Natsu was having a hard time keeping up with each spell he was dodging. Suddenly a tree appeared out of nowhere. It was made completely out of wood and whenever it popped out of the ground where he was the ground started to sink in.

" _Earth Magic: Soft Crust_ "

" _Wood Make: Giant Tree_ "

He jumped up out of the hole that was sinking in the floor, and since the tree was in his way he did not see the wind that was coming right at him.

" _Wind Magic: Wind Slicer_ "

Natsu was hit on his left side by a blade of air. It did no damage other than ripping apart his jacket and knocking the wind out of him, no pun intended. He was knocked on the ground when the area around him became very heavy with magic.

" _Card Magic: Heaven, Death, Reverse Tower – God's Omen_ "

Natsu's eyes widened and he tried to get up but was blown away by the attack and then suddenly forced into the ground. The attack was from the cards. The _God's Omen_ card formation takes the caster will and makes it reality. It is a last-ditch spell for most card users. The spell has 2 parts. First part is finding the will of the caster and discovering what it wants done. After it finds what the caster wants done it picks out the best way possible to carry out the attack. In this case it was through a giant shockwave that used gravity magic to blow the target away with great force and then force them into the ground.

Natsu shook off the effects of the blast. ' _Wow. These guys are better than I gave them credit for. I'm actually having fun._ ' Natsu smirked with that thought. He could use more power than he was.

"Alright. You guys can dish out more than I thought. I think we can turn up the heat a little more."

Of course, when Natsu said 'turn up the heat' he meant literally. The air in the room got just a little hotter. Everyone started to realize how strong he was whenever they started to sweat with just his magic alone.

" _Speed Magic: Crosswalk_ "

Suddenly out of nowhere a man with blonde hair showed up right in front of Natsu. He kicked Natsu in the stomach then disappeared. Natsu flew backwards a bit from the kick but still held his ground. When Natsu looked up to look at the man he found out that he wasn't there.

"Right behind you."

The words were whispered in Natsu's ear. His eyes widened, and he turned just in time to see a boot in front of his face. Natsu snapped his head to the right narrowly avoiding the kick. He grabbed the leg next to his head and swung his opponent up in the air. He jumped right after him with his fist ablaze.

" _Fire Dragon's Iron Fist_ "

Natsu delivered a powerful fist to his opponent's gut. He aimed his punch downwards in order to punch him towards the ground. His opponent hit the ground with enough force to make a small crater in the floor.

When Natsu landed he just huffed and turned back towards the rest of the guild. This proved to be a mistake as he felt something on his back not a moment later. This something forced him into the giant tree that appeared from the ground earlier. Natsu hit the tree with enough force to snap the tree in half.

"How you like that salamander? That's my _Scissor Kick_."

Natsu pulled himself out of the tree and smirked.

"So, you have heard of me? That is the same magic as a buddy of mine. This could be very interesting. Make sure you give me a good fight."

"Oh, it will be. But don't think I'm alone. You are facing an entire guild not one man."

Natsu looked around to see more mages line up to take him on. Some of them were fire mages. ' _They won't be trouble though._ ' Some of them had other magics as well. ' _I better take this seriously or I could wind up in a bind._ '

Natsu took a stance low to the ground. He lit his leg up and started swinging it in a circular motion.

" _Fire Dragon's Tornado_ "

Natsu forced the fire from his leg out the bottom of his feet creating a massive swirling vortex of fire. He then took that vortex and expanded it so that it became wider. It engulfed a lot of the mages that were standing too close. Some mages were able to hop out of the way though.

" _Earth Magic: Four Pillars_ "

" _Air Magic: Barrier_ "

" _Lightning Magic: Lightning Blanket_ "

Four pillars popped out of the ground in a square around Natsu with wind connecting them making a solid barrier. Lightning came from the top of the formation and covered the area. Effectively shocking Natsu until he started eating the lightning magic.

"He ate my magic? What is he? I thought he was a Fire Dragon Slayer."

"I have Fire and Lightning dragon slayer magic. Too bad for you."

" _Lightning Flame Dragon Mode_ "

Lightning and flames covered Natsu from head to toe. He gathered magic within his stomach and puffed out his cheeks. Mages all around him started running trying to find cover.

" _Lightning Flame Dragon's Roar_ "

As soon as Natsu roared he started twisting his body destroying every part of the guild hall his magic touched. He formed a clear path of destruction of where he attacked.

Once he stopped his attack he took a breather to assess the progress he has made on the guild members. He looked around and found that most of them had already been defeated or conceited defeat. He was about to start telling everyone to surrender when he felt a sudden surge of magic behind him. He turned around to see a man standing on the railing of the second floor.

This man had short white hair. He wore a black jacket with a white undershirt, white pants, and black shoes. He had a black tattoo of a snake on the right side of his face.

"Who do you think you are? Coming into our guild and attacking our members."

"Name's Natsu Dragneel. I'm here to put a stop to this dark guild. Who might you be?" Natsu said with a small smirk on his face.

"Ikari. That's all you will get. It's time for you to leave."

"I don't think so. I smell someone here. I think I know her."

Ikari's eyes widened. "They already sent out mages to recover her. I guess since it is the Queen it would make sense."

At hearing this Natsu's eyes widened. "You kidnapped Hisui?" His eyes narrowed. "You kidnapped the Queen of Fiore? The most guarded female on the planet."

"Well not me but yeah. And I guess since you are surprised by that it would mean that you didn't know it was her. Well now I can't let you leave with that information. So, you are just going to have to play nice and stay right where you are." Ikari threw his hand out and the gravity around Natsu suddenly got 10 times heavier.

Natsu, caught off guard by the gravity enhancement, was thrown into the ground. He struggled for a second before he was able to get to his knees. ' _Got to end this fast. Have to rescue the Queen._ '

"Ya know. You are not the brightest dark mage I have ever come across. Giving up the person you kidnapped without sound reasoning that I knew. You are as dumb as me. And trust me, sometimes, I'm not that bright. However, right now, I know what I must do."

"You know what you must do and so do I. I let the secret slip, so I CAN'T let you past me." Ikari turned the gravitational field around Natsu up more. Natsu was forced back down flat on the ground.

Natsu strained to move with the gravity as heavy as it was. He didn't want to go all out and risk hurting Ikari permanently.

' _What do I do? THINK. They have Hisui. I need to rescue her. That must take precedence over my mission._ '

" _Lightning Flame Dragon Mode_ "

Natsu whispered this out. He blew up with Lightning and Fire around him. With the power boost he is able to force himself out of the gravity field. Natsu fires off a small roar at Ikari to get him to move from his spot.

Ikari jumps out of the way of the roar and jumps over Natsu as to block the path of the door. He couldn't let him escape. If he let Natsu get away he would be in some serious trouble.

"Gravity Magic is very useful I'll tell you. It has helped me in some very tight situations. Let me demonstrate. _PULL_ "

Natsu felt his body being pulled by a force that he couldn't do anything about. He flew straight towards Ikari. Ikari pulled out a sword and swung it at Natsu. Whenever Natsu reached Ikari he shifted his body using his fire. He dodged the incoming attack and used the momentum he had gained to slam right into Ikari and knock the wind out of him. He grabbed Ikari by the collar.

" _Fire Dragon's Grip Strike_ "

Ikari was blasted at close range by the attack. His shirt was burned, and he injured a little. He could stand but he was favoring his right side a little. ' _Think Ikari. He is one of the best mages in all of Fiore. You have to outsmart him._ ' Ikari had a plan, but if it didn't work he would be in a world of hurt, and he hoped it worked.

Ikari charged up his gravity magic and released a force field of about 20 meters all around him. Natsu was caught in it inevitably and forced to the ground again. He made the force field 100x as strong as the last. He was using up a lot of magic to pull this off, but he needed to finish the dragon slayer off.

Natsu felt the gravity get unbearably heavy and he couldn't move. He was plastered to the ground trying to figure a way out. Natsu figured he could use the same method he used against Bluenote Stinger. However, the guild hall would be destroyed if he used too much power. He would have to use a lot of power. The only way to do that without attacking is to use one of his most powerful modes.

" _Fire Dragon King Mode_ "

The air in the room increased significantly and everything started melting. Ikari's eyes widened as soon as he felt the energy spike. Ikari forced his magic to get heavier. He was straining himself so hard trying to. His nose was bleeding and his arms felt like they would burst from the strain of his magic.

"You need to stop! You'll kill yourself if you keep this up." Natsu tried to reason with him. Ikari was stubborn though. He would not give up.

"No, I have to defeat you. You cannot interrupt our plans. You will not get her back."

Natsu grew angry at this. He was being too stubborn, and he was going to kill himself straining his body like this. Natsu just gathered magic into the palms of his hand and threw his fist towards Ikari.

" _Fire Dragon King's Demolition Fist_ "

It was a heavily reduced _Demolition Fist,_ but it was still powerful enough to stop Ikari from using his magic. Ikari flew backwards from the attack. He crashed through the wall of the guild hall and landed on the ground outside. He was severely burned but it wasn't enough to threaten his life. Natsu walked up to him and looked down upon him.

"Why did you go to such extremes to try and beat me? You should never try and kill yourself to beat your enemy."

"I had to. If not, I would have died either way. My master does not take kindly to failure and since I was dumb enough, and did not realize what I was saying, to tell you we had kidnapped the Queen I would surely have been executed for that. I had to try and stop you. Just finish me off."

"Hmpf. No. You will stay alive and atone for your sins. I on the other hand will go and rescue the Queen. You will live. And you will pay for your crimes. I promise you won't die."

Natsu just exhaled and dropped his King form. He turned and walked back through the hole in the wall and walked towards the second floor. When he got to the top of the stair set he felt a power lunge at him. He quickly jumped to the left evading it. It was a good thing he did so. He looked at where he was standing to see 4 shadow looking arrows sticking out of the ground. He looked back up and saw a man in a hood. It looked like he had shadows flowing out of him.

"You who dare come and attack this guild. Leave this place before I force you out. I will give you one last chance."

Natsu stood his ground and stared the hooded man down.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Jax. Leave this place. I will not follow you back Salamander. If you leave now you have my word."

"I can't do that. I still have a mission to take this guild down. I will take it down. I just have one more objective now. That is to rescue Queen Hisui."

Jax's eyebrows went upwards a hair. His eyes narrowed after that.

"Who told you?"

"Hmmm. A little birdy. He has flown off by now. So, stand down and I won't hurt you. Okay?"

"Salamander. You have made a grave mistake."

Jax launched his attacks at him full force. Holding nothing back right out of the gate. He shot multiple arrows at him and sent a shadow to try and capture him and hold him still. He formed a shadow ball in his hand and threw it in the mix as well.

" _Shadow Darts, Paralyzing Shadow, Shadow Sphere_ "

Natsu used a simple fire blast to knock the darts away. He did not see the shadow running across the floor though. He got caught and was stuck in place in time for the shadow sphere to hit him. He went flying backwards into the railing. He would have fell of if not for his quick reflexes. He balanced himself and took aim with his head. He roared as hard as he could.

" _Fire Dragon's Roar_ "

His roar went at Jax fast and hard. Jax put up a barrier in front of him to stop the roar. Once the roar hit the barrier was incinerated by the heat it was putting off. Jax quickly jumped out of the way when he saw his barrier go down. He looked back up to see Natsu but instead he was met with a foot to the face. Jax flew backwards from the kick. He righted himself midair and stopped himself.

" _Fire Dragon's Iron Fist_ "

Jax avoided the punch.

" _Fire Dragon's Talon, Fire Dragon's Wing Attack_ "

Jax was met with a barrage of attacks from Natsu. He was able to avoid the talon because of his reflexes but the wing attack had an attack range too far for him to avoid. He was blasted backwards by it. He felt a hand grab his shirt.

" _Fire Dragon's Grip Strike_ "

He was once again blasted by a fire attack. Being burned more than he already was. It was clear Natsu wanted to waste no more time with him. Natsu did not let go. He kept up his barrage of attack relentlessly and defeated Jax in a timely manner.

"I told you if you stood down you wouldn't be hurt. Listen well Jax. I will rescue her."

Natsu stood up from where he crouched to talk to Jax and walked away. He found himself wondering where they would be keeping her. Natsu kept walking down the hallway till he came upon a staircase that led downwards. He had checked the rooms before the staircase and they had been empty.

' _It would be logical to believe they were keeping her down here. I'm never logical though I always follow my gut. Most of the time. It still points to this staircase though. I guess I have no choice. If they really have her I need to get her out of here._ '

Natsu sighed and proceeded to walk down the stairs. It got darker as he went lower. He lit his hand on fire to light his way. He eventually came across a room. He looked around the corner of the door and he saw nothing. It was a big open room. It was empty save for one person in the middle of the room. It was a woman with green hair. She had on a pink and white outfit. White leggings with white boots. Pink sleeves on each arm. This woman was Hisui E. Fiore.

"HISUI!"

Her head shot up. Her mouth was tied up with a cloth. Her eyes were wide, and she was screaming through the cloth around her mouth. She was motioning with her eyes to look to the left but Natsu was not paying attention to her.

"I'll have you out in a bit don't worry."

Suddenly Natsu was blind-sided by a massive hit to his right side. He righted himself midair and found himself blinded by a bright light. He shielded his eyes and waited for the light to die down. He heard some shuffling and tried to pinpoint the location with his hearing. He shot a fireball to his left after he heard some movement, but the shot never made impact with anyone. If the sound of a wall betting hit was anything to go by.

The light died down and he opened his eyes only to see that Hisui was not in the room anymore but instead 2 figures were left in her place.

" _Mist Magic: Blackout_ "

Natsu's eyes widened as the entire room was filled with a fog of sorts. His vision to the two enemies was cut and he now couldn't see even three feet in front of him. He didn't even see the attack coming. Even if it is light magic that was used he couldn't see it.

" _Light Magic: Light Ray_ "

Natsu got blasted in the left side by a ray of light. He went flying into the wall next to him. He grunted at the impact. These guys were obviously good at what they do. Their synergy with each other is impressive. This clearly is not a fight that will be easy.

"You guys are a good duo. I'm impressed. This will be an interesting fight."

"You won't know what the fight is like. It's going to be over very soon."

Natsu cleared his mind and focused on his hearing. If he couldn't see he would just have to hear. He heard several movements from his enemies. The only things he couldn't hear was their magic. He knew one was a Light Magic wielder and he believes that the other one just used this mist like magic. He heard something stop to his right. His senses went off and he quickly jumped backwards narrowly avoiding a beam of light that came darting past him. After he avoided the light that came past him he got hit in the side by a fist made of mist.

"How the hell can mist be solid?"

"It's all about how you use it. Same as you. You can make your fire solid."

"I guess. You may be–"

He was hit again by a beam of light. Different from the first attack he avoided the rays of light kept on coming. One from the right, then from the left, in front and behind. They kept on pounding him relentlessly.

"Come on Natsu Dragneel this can't be all you have to offer. I mean you took on Sting and Rogue by themselves and that was three years ago. You can't be weaker, can you?" This was Jack that was taunting Natsu. HE laughed as his magic bombarded Natsu.

After the rain of magic ended Jack and Haze waited till they were sure he was down. Haze let his fog down. They looked around but saw nothing.

"Where is he? He was here." Jack asked upset.

"He was indeed but not now." Haze replied.

They looked around to see if they could find any evidence of him escaping.

"Hey idiots. Up here"

The two jerked their heads up and saw Natsu in the air with a massive fireball.

" _Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame_ "

Natsu threw the fireball at Jack and Haze and it hit square on. The screamed in pain after it exploded. After the blast wore off the two could be seen laying on the ground defeated.

"I'll ask nicely one time. Where is Hisui?"

Jack looked up at Natsu with angry eyes. He spit some blood at Natsu.

"Like we would tell you anything. You are not interrupting our plans."

"That is not the answer I was looking for. Now I'll ask one more time. This time I'll take one of you with me and we will have some bonding time as we walk. Now, where is she?"

They were both silent.

"She is farther in. They took farther. We have more rooms and more hallways." It was Haze who spoke up.

"Shut up Haze you idiot!"

"Actually, keep talking Haze. Things will go smoother this way. I've learned throughout the years that I can't be the easy-going person I am always. I won't be the easy-going person I like to be if you keep things from me. Now talk."

Haze sighed. "I'm doing this for the both of us Jack. I can't let either of us die just yet. We have a lot of things to do." Haze looked at Jack with tired eyes. "I'm sorry Jack. Hisui is being taken farther in. That is all I'm going to say. I'm still the bad guy here I do not want to lose. I may have lost this battle, but the war is still going. We will complete our objective."

Natsu chuckled. "That's what you think Haze, but I will stop all of you."

Natsu stood up from where he was and knocked the both of them out. He tied them up and put magic nullifying cuffs on them. He walked out of the room and continued down the hallway. He found another set of rooms, but nothing was in them. He came to a bigger room after a little while and decided to see what was in it. Now it is never a good idea to walk into a room without checking but that is what he did anyways.

As soon as Natsu entered the room the door was slammed shut from behind him. He whipped around only to see a man he never thought would be here.

* * *

After she failed to alert Natsu to the presence in the room, and after she was taken farther into the castle, Hisui began to worry that she would not be getting out anytime soon. She heard the sound of the battle getting farther and farther away. She still couldn't speak because of her mouth being tied up but at least she could see.

She was in a room that was obviously farther in the guild hall. It was more like a castle with all the rooms and halls in it. She did not know how far in, but she hoped that Natsu would be able to find her. She continued to look around the room to see if there was any possibility to escape. She saw nothing really that would help her cut the ties around her hand. The only thing she saw that would possibly be able to cut the ties around her hand was a sharp edge on the broken wall. However, with her feet being tied together as well she was not able to stand up and maneuver herself over to the wall.

Suddenly the door to her room opened and in walked a man with long silver hair. It reached down to the middle of his back. He had a red cloak on with a black undershirt. Black pants and red boots too. This was Mercury Cross.

"So. How is my little prisoner? I am hoping that you are enjoying your stay here."

Hisui narrowed her eyes and tried to talk. Her voice just came out as muffled grunts though. Cross just chuckled and shook his head.

"I will take that as a yes. However, you soon won't enjoy your stay. Well you won't be staying here much longer. I obviously won't be telling you anything, but you will be moved soon. Once that happens you have no chance of being rescued." He walked over to her and grabbed her chin with his thumb and forefinger. She tried to shake her head out of his grasp. He tilted her head towards him. He smirked. "I hope you're ready Your Majesty. Soon you will be used as one of our Martyrs. We will use you and other various people with substantial influence on other kingdoms and show the people…. You know what. I'll wait to tell you that. It will be all that much sweeter to leave you with as little information as possible. To leave you knowing that you are going to die, but not knowing when, and leave you wondering when and how."

Hisui just continued to glare and try her best to talk. Cross wanted to know what she was saying so he undid the ties around her mouth.

"I didn't quite catch what you said. Mind repeating that."

"I said you won't get away with this. Natsu will stop you."

"Oh, you mean that little dragon slayer that is currently trying to get to you? Trust me if he somehow gets past Jax he will not get past me. I won't hesitate."

"Natsu is more powerful than you know. You won't take him down. He is one of, if not the, strongest mages in all of Fiore."

"Yeah? Well have you ever heard of the saying 'There is always someone stronger than you.'? Well news flash I'm stronger."

"I really doubt that. He will never lose to a dark mage. He always wins in the end."

Apparently Hisui was being funny because Cross started laughing. "You are the best captive I have ever had." Mercury just started to tie her mouth back up.

"Ever heard of Acnologia?"

This caught Mercury's attention. "What about him?"

"You know who defeated him? It was not publicly released but someone must know. It just so happens that I do."

Mercury narrowed his eyes.

"It just so happens that the dragon slayer that is currently trying to save me is the one. I told you he is one of, if not the, strongest mages. You won't win."

Mercury just proceeded to tie her mouth back up. He gave her one last glare and walked off. He shut and locked the door behind him. He stood outside of the room holding Hisui and thought. ' _If what she says is true then Jax will certainly be defeated. This is going to throw a wrench into my plans. I may have to call him. No matter how badly it will end for me I have to do it. She cannot be allowed to be rescued._ '

With his mind set Mercury Cross set off to do something that would change the tide of this battle.

* * *

"I never expected to see you again." Is what Natsu said to the man in front of him.

The man in front of Natsu was none other than Jax. He looked perfectly fine compared to Natsu.

"Come on now. You can't possibly believe that what you did earlier would keep me down now could you? You just knocked me out. I have way more than what I showed earlier." Jax just smirked. He was cocky, but he knew his limitations. "I simply let my guard too far down. Now I know I can't hold back against you. The fight won't go the same way this time."

Natsu narrowed his eyes and focused on Jax. "Oh, the fight won't go the same way. I had her within my grasp and these two nitwits came out of nowhere and took her away. I will rescue Hisui. Nothing will stop me from doing that."

"You can't possibly imagine that you will come out on top. If you somehow get past me our Guild Master is more powerful than all three of us combined. You won't beat him."

"Yeah? Well we will just have to see about that. I'm a Fairy Tail wizard. We are known for doing the impossible. Now. Let's stop chatting and get this started."

Natsu started off with a roar. He sent it straight towards Jax. Jax however expected something like this and had already put up a wall of shadows to protect himself.

" _Shadow Darts_ "

Jax fired dozens of darts made of shadows at Natsu.

Natsu dodged them all. Relying on his speed to gain the upper hand in this fight Natsu charged Jax as fast as he could. Jax, not being prepared for the speed Natsu was displaying, got caught off guard. Natsu gave him the punch of a lifetime.

" _Fire Dragon's Iron Fist_ "

Jax flew backwards into the wall behind him. It left a significant dent in the wall. Jax pulled himself out of the wall and submerged himself in the shadows. ' _Try to find me now Dragneel_ '

Jax swam around in his shadows and came right behind Natsu. Jax quickly popped out of the shadows and stuck Natsu in the back. Sending him careening into the wall. He did not let up.

" _Shadow Darts_ "

More darts were blasted at Natsu. Natsu saw them coming at him as he exited the hole. He jumped to the right of them, but as soon as he landed he saw another attack right upon him. With no time to dodge he took it head on with his arms crossed in front of him.

"Come on Dragneel. You're not slowing down, now are you? You're going to have to do better than that to survive this. I want to make this as painful as possible."

"Who said I wasn't being slow on purpose?"

Jax's eyebrows rose at that statement. The dust had cleared and now he saw what appeared to be Natsu standing there with his arms crossed. His arms were damaged a little but not enough to do any real damage.

Jax smiled at this. "This will be an interesting fight after all. Just wait until the effects kick in, then it really will be interesting."

Natsu cocked an eyebrow at this. "What do you mean effects?"

"Well that was my _Poison Gas Explosion_ attack. I used a special type of shadow that I infused with some poison I have. It has a very special effect. It is different on everyone but one thing that stayed constant throughout the many different people that I have used it on is that everyone has fallen to it within the time of 10 minutes. So, you better defeat me and take the antidote within the allotted time or you will run out of luck and you will never be able to save the Queen."

"Well I guess I'll just have to stop holding back then." Natsu smirked and charged up his magic. His entire arm lit up with crimson flames. He charged Jax with a mighty roar.

As soon as he got to Jax he threw a punch at incredible speeds. His punch seemingly connected with Jax's face and knocked him back into the wall. Once the smoke cleared from the impact he saw Jax suddenly turn into shadows and disappear. Natsu was immediately on alert. He heard Jax laughing from the shadows.

"You like that Dragneel? That's what I call a Shadow Clone." (No not a Naruto reference. Just a coincidence.) "I can throw those up all day. I can manipulate them into using the same attacks I use by forming magic then sending it through them. Neat little trick eh?"

"Yeah neat. Now come out so I can punch ya. I'm kinda getting tired of your games here."

Natsu suddenly got blasted in the back.

" _Shadow Cannon_ "

Natsu went flying towards the wall. He had enough time to flip himself so that he landed with his feet on the wall. He looked up and saw Jax starting to fade back into the shadows. He kicked off the wall with his fists ablaze.

"Oh no you don't! _Fire Dragon's Iron Fist_ "

He sent a punch directly where Jax went in and destroyed the floor. Jax was consequently blew from the shadows by the blast and knocked into the air.

" _Fire Dragon's Roar_ "

Natsu fired a roar at Jax to which Jax put his own attack in the air.

" _Shadow Cannon_ "

The two blasts collided and created an explosion in the room. Both mages were blown back form the force of the blast. It took about a minute for the smoke to clear but that was all it took for Jax to sink back into the shadows.

' _I really hate this guy and his damn shadows._ '

Natsu scanned the room to see if he could locate Jax. He searched for him but to no avail could he find him. He had used his senses to find him. He was still in the room.

"Behind you." Came the whisper before Natsu was once again thrown to the other side of the room. "Hahahaha. This is where it gets interesting. First your senses leave you then your strength. Everything one by one. Till you crumble down and die when I finish you off. To think I was able to conquer the mighty Salamander."

Natsu got to his feet. He was panting. The poison was taking a toll. It was working faster than he had expected. ' _Crap. This is getting hairy. It's working through me like Laxus's lightning._ ' Natsu felt the poison working so he decided to ramp things up a bit to see if he couldn't finish soon.

" _Lightning Flame Dragon Mode_ "

Lightning was sparking off him while his flames consumed his entire being. Jax saw this and knew that the battle was taking a serious turn. He flared his magic as well and got ready for a fight.

They both charged at the same time. Fists coated in flames and fists coated in shadows collided. Over and over creating shockwaves throughout their battleground. One-minute Natsu was on the offensive, the next defensive. It was evenly matched. Jax was a formidable foe that was for sure. Natsu recognized his strength. One thing was different. He was standing in Natsu's way of saving Hisui. Natsu would not allow that.

" _Lightning Flame Dragon's Roar_ "

A giant funnel of fire and lightning came out of Natsu's mouth and sped towards Jax. Jax put up a wall of shadows in order to try and deflect the attack. It worked to an extent. The blast had broken through the barrier but only after it had weakened some. Jax took a hit head on and took substantial damage from it. Unfortunately for Natsu it did not take Jax out. It left him severely wounded though. Jax looked up to see Natsu in a state of weakness.

Natsu was panting hard from the exertion of that last attack. It was supposed to be the final one. ' _Looks like it's not gonna be that easy._ ' Natsu straightened out his back and looked Jax in the eye. "Give up now. I won't hold back in my next attack. We both can't take many more hits. Difference is that I have something I want to do. So, do you, but I won't fail in doing my task, you ultimately will."

"That's what you think Natsu Dragneel. I'm ending this right here."

Jax charged up a large amount of magic. This seems like it is going to be the last attack from either opponent.

" _Shadow Magic: Unlimited Darkness_ "

Natsu saw the attack headed for him. He knew if he got hit it would be over. He had to end it now.

" _Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Lotus: Exploding Lightning Blade_ "

Natsu whirled his arms in a circular motion creating a vortex of lightning and flames. Pushing his magic farther and farther. Their attacks clashed. A giant shockwave was formed from the clash. The magics were fighting to gain the upper hand. In the end Natsu's got it. The attack crashed through Jax's spell and crashed right into Jax. An explosion occurred because of the magic hitting its target.

After the smoke had cleared Natsu saw Jax laying on the ground. He knew he had won. He walked over to where Jax was and watched Jax roll over onto his back.

"You win Dragneel. You win. Once again you proved why you are the strongest."

"And you proved why the bad guys never win. You are not fighting for the right thing. You do not have enough conviction to fight for it. I however am fighting for the right thing."

Jax pulled out a small vile from his bag. "Here is the antidote. I am a man of my word." With that he passed out. Natsu took the potion and drank it. He felt better instantly but he was not fully well. It was a tough fight.

He walked out of the room and started searching for Hisui once more. ' _Just wait for me. I'll find you._ '

* * *

Hisui was sitting in her cell. She had no idea what was going on or what time it was. So much time could have passed. She could not see daylight. The only light she had was a barely lit torch on the wall. She heard nothing. She thought she would be able to at least hear some fighting.

' _What I would give for an explosion of some sort. Anything to let me know that he is still trying and has not been defeated. I know Natsu is strong, but he is going up against an entire guild, but anything could go wrong._ '

Around this time the door to her cell opened and in walked a member of the Midnight Wolf guild.

"I have your evening meal." The guild member stated monotonously. He sat the tray of unappetizing food down in front of Hisui. "I'll unlock one of your hands but that's it. You know the rules."

Hisui could do nothing but nod her head and abide by the rules set in place. She knew better than to try and escape. As he was unlocking her hand she looked behind him to see some other members of the guild walking around the halls. She saw other cells. She was not able to see inside but she knew for certain that there were other people in them. Once the guild member was done he walked back to the door, shut and locked it, and walked away to who knows where.

Hisui proceeded to try and eat what she could of the nasty food. She had grown up eating the best food around. Only what was deserving for a princess. She didn't take it for granted though. She knew she had a privileged life. She also knew that that could end in the span of a heartbeat. She took nothing for granted and she continued on hoping that Natsu would be able to rescue her.

After she got through with her meal she suddenly felt the ground shake. She snapped her head up and waited with bated breath. She felt the ground shake again. With more force than the last. She began to regain hope of being rescued.

' _No one could do this other than the most destructive mage in Fiore. Natsu is still fighting._ '

She knew it. She knew how tenacious Natsu was and how he would stop at nothing to save the ones he cares about. She suddenly blushed at the thought. He cared about a lot of people. Which means he possibly cares about her. Little known to anyone, Hisui actually cares about the dragon slayer. More than people would realize.

She shook the thoughts out of her head. Now wasn't the time for those thoughts. She kept on waiting. She felt the explosions get closer and closer until the door to her room was suddenly blasted open. Coffing from the smoke she inhaled after gasping at the sudden intrusion she looked up only to see what she could have described as the most amazing thing she had ever witnessed. Natsu was standing there in his _Lightning Flame Dragon Mode_. She had seen this only a few times. But every time she did it absolutely amazed her.

"Natsu!"

He grinned his signature grin. "Hiya Hisui. Sorry for taking so long."

She had tears in her eyes. She was finally being rescued. "Thanks for coming."

"I did what I had to do. Can't have Fiore going crazy without their Queen."

He walked over and destroyed her chains. He grabbed her and hoisted her on his back and started walking out of the cell. She hugged him tight. "Thank you." She whispered.

He smiled and continued with his walk. Once he got to a corridor he looked around to try and get his bearings. He had no idea where he was. ' _Damn. This is not good. I was so busy forcing my way to her that I didn't pay attention to where I came from. Good job Natsu some S-Class mage you are._ ' He berated himself for not tracking himself.

He decided to turn down a random hallway and see where it took them. He was walking when he felt a pressure on the other side of the wall. He turned to the wall just in time to shield Hisui from the blast. The wall exploded and sent Natsu and Hisui through the opposite wall. Natsu turned so he would take the brunt of the damage. They crash through the wall and land on the ground.

Hisui groans and sits up. She is not injured very much. She looks over at Natsu only to see him unconscious lying face down on the ground. She crawls over to him and flips him over. He has scorch marks on his clothes. No doubt from the blast itself since he is immune to fire.

"Natsu…. Natsu." She shakes him attempting to awaken him, but to no avail. "Natsu you have to get up. Wake up. Someone is coming. Natsu—"

She was grabbed by the neck and tossed several feet away from the dragon slayer. A pained grunt escaping her mouth was the only sound she made when she landed. She looked up to see Mercury Cross, guild master of Midnight Wolf, standing over her with a wicked smile on his face.

"Now I know my little sacrificial lamb isn't running away, now is she?"

"You won't get away with this."

"Oh, my darling. You don't know what I'm going to get away with just yet."

Mercury reached down and grabbed Hisui by her shirt and held her up. "You are not going anywhere. Sorry to say. Now let's get you back to your cell."

He started walking back to the hole in the wall that he made.

"LET ME GO YOU MONSTER! Let go of me."

Hisui was screaming and squirming trying her best to escape his grasp. She just was not strong enough to force her way out. She suddenly felt a sharp stinging in the side of her face. Mercury slapped Hisui in the face in order to shut her up. Hisui was so surprised at what happened she instantly stopped moving.

Mercury was about to step through the hole when he felt, more like sensed something to his right, so he looked. Just in time to see a flaming foot come at him. He had no chance of blocking.

" _Fire Dragon's Talon_ "

Mercury was blown away and sent careening into the wall on the far side of the room. Natsu landed and grabbed Hisui out of midair and jumped backwards to put distance between them and the master.

"Hisui, you okay?"

He checked her. Other than the slightly swollen cheek she seemed fine. Seeing her cheek swollen enraged Natsu. No one should ever lay their hands on her. He shouldn't have given them the chance.

"I'm fine Natsu. Let's just try and get out of here."

"Get out? Oh no, where is the fun in that?"

They both looked up to see Mercury come out of the wall with the only damage to him was a slightly scorched cheek.

Hisui's eyes widen. "How?" She whispers.

Mercury hears this though. He chuckles. "How? Because I'm not weak. Not as weak as you think anyways. You are not getting away that easily."

Mercury holds his hand out. " _Explosion_ "

The ground underneath Natsu and Hisui suddenly lights up. Natsu, being faster than Hisui, grabs Hisui and pulls her out of the way and shove her behind himself.

The ground explodes. Natsu takes on the heat and shields Hisui from the blast. Natsu being prepared this time for the explosion throws up a wall of fire in front of him shielding himself from the blast. They still get sent back a few feet. On their feet this time.

" _Fire Dragon's Roar_ "

Natsu immediately retaliates. He rushes Cross with a vengeance. Hisui is forced to look on as Natsu and Mercury start to fight. ' _Be careful please._ '

Punches and kicks are being sent one after the other in a brutal clash of strength. One trying to gain the upper hand on the other. Mercury sees an opening and launches and attack.

" _Explosion Magic: 50%_ "

A blast bigger than the one before it rocks Natsu hard. The fire doesn't injure Natsu, but the blast itself did a good bit of damage to him. He flies backwards and lands on the ground smoking.

"Come on Salamander. Show me the man who defeated Acnologia. All I see here is a pitiful weak little fairy."

Natsu grits his teeth and stands up. ' _I'll show you._ '

" _Lightning Flame Dragon Mode_ "

' _I have used this way too much today. I'm almost out of power. I need to finish this quick. NO MORE HOLDING BACK!_ '

Natsu pushes off the ground with his enhanced speed because of the lightning magic. He appears in front of Mercury and surprises him with the speed.

' _So fast._ '

" _Lightning Flame Dragon's Firing Hammer_ "

With an arm coated in fire and lightning he swings with deadly force hitting Mercury with devastating power.

" _Lightning Flame Dragon's Brilliant Flame_ "

He slaps his hands together and creates a giant ball of lightning and fire. He throws it right at the wall where Cross is at. The explosion rocks the entire building structure. It can be felt all the way up on the first floor.

" _Lightning Flame Dragon's Roar_ "

To try and finish his opponent off while he has magic left he takes a deep breath and gathers his magic in his stomach and unleashed what he hoped to be his last attack. He was putting every last bit of his will into making this fight short. The roar was immediately upon Mercury. The explosion of the brilliant flame was nothing compared to this one. It seemed to be bigger than before. ' _Odd. I know it would cause that big of an explosion._ ' Natsu began thinking of why it would.

His answer came in the form of a man walking from the flames left behind by his attack. Mercury Cross was walking out of the flames.

Natsu's eyes widened at the sight of this. Mercury was beaten and bruised. He had blood running down his hands and scorch marks everywhere.

"That was a good try Natsu Dragneel. Unfortunately for you. It only served to anger me." He was absolutely livid. He would not lose to this pathetic mage.

" _Explosion Magic: 75%_ "

Natsu got blasted by a force greater than that of Mercury's last attack. He was launched into the air. His clothing had been burnt away and he now had burns from where the blast hit him. While in midair he was hit in his stomach by another explosion. He flew to the ground like a meteor. The crater he made when he landed would serve as his grave thought Cross.

"You will fall Dragneel. Today." " _Explosion Magic: 100%_ "

An enormous explosion occurred. Hisui, being as far away as she was, had to move back to try and not get burned. That was not even enough. She would have some first degree burns after this. Definitely.

After the explosion stopped and the smoke cleared you could see a heavily wounded Natsu Dragneel laying in the crater. Mercury just walked to the edge and slid down. He stopped right in front of Natsu.

"Your time has come to an end Natsu. I will be the first here to admit that this had been fun. It has to end now though. I can't have you ruining my plans." Mercury held his hand out.

Natsu was barely awake. ' _Come on. Move. You can't lose here. You have to get up._ ' He was trying so hard to move. He was not registering anything. He suddenly heard something though. A voice. Light but scared. A sweet voice that cut through his thoughts like butter.

"NATSU GET UP PLEASE!"

There it was. He could hear it clearly now.

"PLEASE NATSU YOU CAN'T LOSE HERE! GET UP NATSU!"

It sounded like the voice was crying. Who was it? He tried thinking on who sounded like this. Who was he with? Suddenly he remembered everything. The fights, the guild, Hisui. HISUI! That's who it was.

"NATSUUUUUUUU!"

Natsu's eyes snapped open. He saw Mercury's hand pointed at him. No. He wouldn't lose here.

He fired off a roar point blank range.

Mercury was unprepared for the attack. He was not able to use his magic to block some of the blast like he had the ones before it. He took the blast head on.

Cross was blown up and away from the crater. He landed on the ground and rolled to a stop. With shaky movements he stood up. Just in time to see Natsu crawl out of the hole. Natsu was barely standing himself. Running on pure adrenaline.

The next attacks would be the last of the fight.

"You won't stand in my way Dragneel. I am ending your life right here and now."

"I'd like to see you try. I don't plan on going down easily."

Mercury just let out a scream of nothing but rage and hatred.

"Say goodbye to your life!"

" _Explosion Magic: Unleashed: 200%_ "

" _Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade_ "

They both prepared to use their strongest attacks. Right before they launched them though. Something happened.

Natsu suddenly stopped in his tracks. One by one at a very fast rate cuts started to appear on him. All over his body. Blood started going everywhere. He fell.

"NATSUUUUUUUUU!" Came the scream of pure horror of Hisui. ' _NO! He…. He can't be dead. He couldn't have lost._ '

"Now that is enough." Came a very deep voice. A calm one at that.

Mercury's eyes widened. ' _Oh no._ '

A man came from behind Natsu's fallen form. The man was tall. About 6'2. He had jet black hair and wore a dark suit with white trim. He had, attached to his hip a sword that had a blade about 5'0 long.

"Mercury you were planning on ending your life in order to kill this pathetic worm. That is not acceptable."

"Master! I… I'm sorry."

"No apologies." He turned to Natsu. "Dragneel I know you can hear me. You are not dead yet. Listen well. You have disturbed my plans for the last time. Never again will you do it. Understand this. I am merely trying to help the world see what is right in front of them. To make them understand that the darkness had not gone away. That anyone can be the darkness if they so choose it. The world will see just how cruel people can be if they want to be." He took his sword, still sheathed, and held it out. A light formed on the tip. "Goodbye Natsu Dragneel."

The man fired a blast towards Natsu. As soon as the blast came near Natsu. Something on Natsu lit up. The blast hit and Natsu was nowhere near it. Unbeknownst to the man and the rest in the room. The necklace that Anna Heartfilia gave him teleported him away. Back to his home.

Hisui did not believe what happened before her eyes. ' _No._ ' Was the last thing she thought before she passed out.

The man that had fired the blast at Natsu simply stared at her. ' _She will be useful to our cause._ ' He looked back at Mercury. ' _He however will not be._ '

* * *

It was a particularly normal day at the Fairy Tail Guild. No one was doing much. Everyone was just lazing doing nothing resting up from jobs.

"I wonder when Natsu will be back." Happy said from his place on the bar. He was happily chewing on a fish.

"Just give him time happy. It is an S-Class mission he is on. It would not surprise me if he came back a week or two from now." Mira replied as she cleaned some glasses behind the bar.

Happy just sighed and continued on his fish. "I guess you're right."

Suddenly a bright light enveloped the entire guild hall. Everyone was instantly on guard. Well. The S-Class wizards at least. They knew that this was not something that happened every day.

Once the light died down, what they saw froze them to their very cores.

There stood Natsu. In the middle of the hall. Bloodied and beaten. He looked almost dead. If it weren't for the shallow breathing they would have assumed he was dead.

No one dared speak. If this was some kind of illusion magic, which they hoped it was, they wanted it to go away.

Happy was the first to break the impregnable silence that had befallen the entirety of Fairy Tail.

"N..N..Natsu?"

His body just fell over. Crumpled to the floor like a sack of potatoes. The moment he hit the ground. Chaos broke loose in the Fairy Tail Guild. For the first time since the war. Since that fateful day that the dragon slayers were sucked into the rift with Acnologia. Fairy Tail thought they were going to lose their light.

* * *

Again, I am sorry for how long it took for this chapter to come out. But it's out now. I hope you enjoyed it. I am starting to get back into the swing of things now. I actually want to write again. More chapters will come.

As always if you liked the story give it a follow and a review. If you didn't leave a review and tell me why. I will do my best to fix anything that needs to be fixed.

Till next time.


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